North Korea Establishing Koguryo Tomb Institute

According to reports, North Korea is currently working on the construction of a Koguryo Tomb Institute in order to showcase its special qualities and preserve its tumulus and murals for registration UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This North Korean project is noteworthy because it may be interpreted as a response against perceived falsifications of Koguryo’s history by China.

Hirayama Ikuo, a dean at the Tokyo Art School and UNESCO goodwill ambassador to North Korea, announced in an interview with us on January 15 that North Korea recently submitted blueprints with institute building plans to UNESCO.

Hirayama also delivered a North Korea official’s announcement: that North Korea would raise $500,000 on its own and $300,000 from an overseas fund-raising campaign to create an Institute foundation fund totaling $800,000. It has been reported that the Italian government will help sponsor the Koguryo tomb mural preservation project.

“North Korea has complained against China’s application,” said Hirayama. “But at the UNESCO World Heritage Convention at Suzhou, China this June, there is high possibility that both the Koguryo murals of North Korea and Manchuria’s Koguryo wall paintings submitted by China will be placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.”

parkwj@donga.com