A Study on the Koguryo ancient mural paintings in the An-Ak 3rd ancient tomb, focusing on the hair styles

안악3호분을 통해서 본 머리모양 연구

Hair styles, dresses and their ornaments are basic measures that show the trend of the times, the people and their life in both Eastern and Western societies. The history of a country could start or be extinguished at any time, but life goes on. Koguryo was founded around Anno Domini and fell at 668 A. D. What was Koguryo people like? How was their hair style and costume? This study aims to respond those questions. The Koguryo ancient mural paintings can be broadly divided into the Jip-An region and the Pyon-Yang region. Among the paintings found, that in the An-Ak 3rd ancient tomb at the Pyon-Yang region is the biggest and the most splendid. It is a figure genre painting, which contains a kitchen, a rice mill, a stable, a barn, a garage, etc. Those places illustrate the way of life at the time. The painting also comprises a man with a crown, who is seen as the king and owner of this tomb. The woman with a vertically designed hair style is perceived as the queen. A highly guarded and decorated royal parade is also presented in detail. The hair styles and costume evidence in the An-Ak 3rd ancient tomb are not seen in the paintings of the Jip-An region. This study inquires into the differences between the Pyon-Yang and lip-An regions through the history and the culture of those areas. Nevertheless, it could prove tentative to confirm the owner of the An-Ak 3rd ancient tomb with the only evidence of the words found in the wall of the tomb. It is the author's intention to study and analyse further.