Treasures of the World Series
The Koguryo Tombs

The burial mounds of North Korea are over 1500 years old and tell of an ancient empire that stretched from Manchuria to present-day South Korea.  Its name was Koguryo. 

The burial mounds were reserved for kings and figures of high standing.  The furnishings meant for a happy afterlife have all been plundered.  All that remain are the murals painted directly on the stone walls, representing a dragon, a phoenix, a snake and a turtle, all four intended to ensure a peaceful afterlife for the person buried there.
The tombs were decorated with realistic pictures of everyday life.
Taosim was the main religion in the initial stages of the empire.
Buddhism came to the Korean peninsula from China and was declared the state religion in 372 A.D.
The war-like Koguryan Empire had a dual defensive system: a fortified city and a mountain fortress close by.  When it was no longer possible to hold the town, the entire population, from the king down to the peasantry, withdrew behind the walls of the mountain fortress.
The martial art of taekwondo has its origins in the Koguryo era. Koguryo’s trade network extended as far as southern China, Japan, central Asia and Siberia.
The Koguryo Empire that was founded in 37 BC and existed for seven centuries until 668 AD when it was toppled.  Modern day North Korea prides itself on being the descendent of this ancient empire.

Faraway People Series
Bush Pilots

The small communities of Alaska deeply rely on regular flights for mail and goods.

In Alaska, there is one pilot for 58 people.
Pilots are the lifeline for communities cut off from the rest of the world by snow and a scarcity of roads – there are only 9,000 kilometres of roads on this vast land of over one million square kilometres.
Jeremy is a pilot who flies to villages three times a day.
Dan is a pilot of another kind – a bush pilot, an adventurer, who flies to the most remote areas of Alaska, landing on snow or frozen lakes and rivers.