The Story of Mural Paintings

Mural paintings from ancient tombs from Egypt’s era of the Pharaoh tell us about the lives of people and the commonly held worldviews from the past. We also found mural paintings here in Dae Gaya’s tombs.

Before we look at the mural painting, let me first tell you about the features of the Ancient Tomb in Goa-ri. This tomb was constructed by making a chamber with stone and connecting it to a hallway.
This tunnel type of tomb is similar to that of Baekje, which was an ancient kingdom once located in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula.

The mural painting was found in the main chamber and the hallway. Although we can’t see the complete shape of the painting due to damage, we can clearly see a lotus-shaped design.

This is the same design that was found on the pillow and silver cup excavated from the Royal Tomb of King Muryeong of Baekje.

Traditionally, a lotus flower has been regarded as a symbol of Buddhism. So, the fact that lotus flower design used in mural paintings of Dae Gaya tombs suggests that Buddhism was already introduced to Dae Gaya.
In Buddhism, people avoid building large tombs. This is probably why the tombs of Dae Gaya became relatively smaller, and a new culture of painting murals was born.