They were traditionally buried with their most treasured possessions to take with them into their afterlife.
And for this female mummy, her most important item was her handbag.
The corpse of the Korean woman, which is thought to date back 500 years, was also discovered with her finest clothes as well as a the intricate satchel and ornaments.
Researchers at the Seogyeong Cultural Properties Research Institute in Seoul believe the woman was the wife of a high-level government official during the Joseon Dynasty and who died during the 16th century.
Early analysis of the wooden coffin in which she was interred has revealed characters which indicate she was a woman of importance.
The coffin was found at an industrial complex site in Osan, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea.
It hails from the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled between 1392 until 1910.
The clothes found with the mummy will help researchers in the study of how women lived during the era.
Although mummies are normally associated with ancient Egypt, mummification was common in Korea.
Unlike the Egyptian process, Korean corpses were not deliberately mummified. It was a naturally occurring phenomenon of the way they were buried.
During the dynasty, the upper classes were buried in a way that prevented the body's decay.
They placed their dead in hoegyeok, a type of tomb, and corpses were buried in double-sided coffins and covered with a layer of a limestone mixture which completely isolated the body from water and air.
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