Early mural paintings of Goguryeo portray many types of people engaged in a variety of activities.
A portrait of a tomb owner with the spouse, scene of singing and dancing, grand procession,
and hunting in mountains and plains had been popular themes. These themes of murals and
portrayed figures are slightly different depending on regions and time periods. For instance,
early paintings of Pyeongyang region usually have figures wearing wide outfits with broad sleeves.
Whereas faces of the noblewoman and attendants from Ahnawk Tomb No.3 are mostly round with high
cheeks and chubby chins, attendants portrayed on walls of Duckhong-ri tomb have slim faces
and wear a pleated skirt. These female figures later developed into images of Goguryeo women
who walk gracefully in a procession, boasting their beautifulness, like the ones on the murals
of Ssangyoungchong or Susan-ri tomb.

 In Jian region, the tomb mural painting tradition started later than it did in Pyeongyang region.
Figures portrayed on the former usually wear polka dot outfits including jackets and pants.
The custom of placing the jacket tie on the left side had been a northern cultural characteristic of
people who were accustomed to a horse-riding culture. Figures that appear on murals of Gawkjeochong
and Mooyongchong wear slightly different styles of outfits from those drawn on murals of Pyeongyang
region. Their slim faces, however, confirm that they were surely depicted as people of Goguryeo.
The style of portraits of tomb owners and their spouses are also different between the two regions.
On murals of Pyeongyang region, married couples sit sternly like deities, facing the front but on
those of Jian region, couples carry out daily activities, such drinking tea and comfortably chatting with
each other. These differences show that the stylistic traditions in Goguryeo’s two cultural centers
were not identical.