The three tombs at Kangso stand in a quiet part of the countryside near the west coast of North Korea, not far from the Taedong River. They date from the Goguryeo kingdom, probably from the late fifth or early sixth century, and each is a grass-covered mound over a stone chamber. The Great Tomb is the best known, painted inside with a vivid picture of the Four Guardians: the Azure Dragon of the east, the White Tiger of the west, the Red Phoenix of the south and the Black Tortoise entwined with a snake of the north. The painted ceiling shows clouds, flying figures and mythical creatures. The group belongs to the Complex of Koguryo Tombs, which UNESCO listed in 2004.
As with other North Korean sites, an honest word is needed. Independent travel is not possible, and foreign visitors go on tightly organised tours with a guide and a driver. The tombs cannot be reached on a self-planned motorcycle trip, so what follows is context for those who want to understand the place.
Kangso lies in the district of Nampo, and the land is flat and watery, with rice paddies stretching toward the Yellow Sea. The Taedong flows to the sea near here, closed off by the long barrage that stands between river and ocean. Yonggang is the nearest small town, and Nampo, about twenty-five kilometres off, is the large port city. The weather has four distinct seasons, with a cold and dry winter, humid summer and a lovely autumn.
The Four Guardians have a history far beyond Korea. They come from Chinese cosmology and appear in tombs, temples and palaces across East Asia, and the Goguryeo painters gave them an elegance and energy that is unmistakable. Some experts see Daoist influence, others a distinctive Goguryeo spirit, and their vigour is often compared with later Korean art. The paintings have faded in some tombs and required major conservation, and those at Kangso are among the best preserved.
For those who cannot visit, replicas of these murals can be seen in museums in South Korea, and the research on them is well published. They are a reminder that the border between two states runs through a shared culture, much older than the line itself.