The Susan-ri Tomb is a mounded stone chamber tomb with mural paintings built around the late fifth century. It is located in Susan-ri, South Pyeongan Province, in North Korea. The tomb was excavated and investigated in 1971, when almost all the relics had already been stolen and the mural paintings had been greatly damaged.
This is a single-chamber tomb, and the subjects of the mural paintings are customs of that society. The indoors lives of the master of the tomb and his wife are depicted on the northern wall, which is the central wall of the tomb. Their outdoors lives are depicted on the left and right walls. The mural paintings of the Susan-ri Tomb provide important data that help to understand the upper-class culture of Goguryeo by illustrating the daily lives, including amusements, clothing, and ornaments, of elites. The portraits reveal excellent painting skills, with mature, refined, and soft touches. In particular, as women in long-sleeve jackets and skirts with folds and stripes of many colors resemble women in the mural paintings in the Takamatsuzuka Tomb, in Japan, the influence of Goguryeo painting style may perhaps be seen there.
