Ancient Relics

[Anchor Lead]

Ancient relics that have been discovered over the past 10 years in North Korea on the former sites of Goguryeo and Balhae kingdoms were disclosed to the public in Incheon on January 17. More joint investigations will be conducted in the future to uncover relics in Hwanghae-do Province and Kaesong.

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This tomb mural dating back to the late 4th century was found in Nampo, North Korea. The mural shows the person buried in the tomb and Chinese characters meaning "king" and "great." proving the tomb belongs to a member of the royal family. This mural discovered in Hwanghae-do Province features unusual whirlpool-like patterns reminiscent of fingerprints.

[Soundbite] Prof. Chung Kyung-il(Yanbian University) : "It's the first tomb found in Cheondeok-ri that has engraved whirlpool patterns painted with black ink."

The murals were found in North Korea by historians from China's Yanbian University over the past ten years. So far, researchers from the institute have discovered 130 ancient tombs from the Goguryeo era. At a forum organized by Yanbian University, the government of Incheon City and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, scholars from South Korea also discussed the preservation and excavation of historic relics in North Korea. This August, the researchers plan to share the results of their studies into the royal tombs of Goryeo and Joseon eras as well.

[Soundbite] Kim Rak-ki(Research Center for Incheon History & Culture) : "We will compare Joseon and Goryeo tombs in Kaesong with those found in Incheon and Gyeonggi-do Province."

Seoul and Pyongyang are stepping up cultural cooperation through joint studies on historic relics.