Arirang: Korea’s Unofficial National Anthem

Arirang– a song which has no other parallel in Korea itself- perhaps hasn’t even a parallel in any other country as well. The song is often dubbed the “unofficial Korean national anthem”- and it isn’t just a beloved song in South Korea but in North Korea as well as its history predates the division at the end of World War II. While the exact origins and meaning of Arirang are not known, experts claim there are as many as 40 different theories- some of which include the song originally created as a story of two lovers separated by a river or as an ancient poem written to praise the virtue of Silla’s founder and first reigning monarch Park Hyeokgeose’s wife Alyeong. Arirang is also not one song but any song with the refrain “Arirang, arirang, arariyo” and two simple lines which can be different from region to region as Arirang has an estimated over 3,600 variations belonging to about 60 different versions.

The main refrain “Arirang, arirang, arariyo” actually doesn’t have any meaning within itself either which has made it especially unique in its breadth for creative interpretation. However, the song subjects usually contain messages of sorrow, separation, reunion, and love. The song was thought to have originated in Jeonseong, Gangwon Province, and thus the Jeonseong Arirang is referred to as the original Arirang. However, the most widely known version of Arirang is the Bonjo Arirang or ‘Standard Arirang’ in Seoul, first made popular by the 1926 silent film directly titled “Arirang” written and directed by Na Woon-gyu. The film was made during Japan’s occupation of Korea and is considered to be the first Korean nationalist film as it portrayed a student, Yeon-jin, who has become mentally ill after being imprisoned and tortured by the Japanese for his involvement in the March 1^st protests. The story follows him as he returns home to his father and sister however when a Japanese collaborator, O Gi-ho, attempts to rape his sister, he ends up stabbing him with a sickle, killing him. The film ends with Yeon-jin being sent back to prison as his village weeps. Although no surviving copies of the film remain, Arirang became a song of national pride and a resistance against Japanese occupation and the film still retains its national importance.

Since its explosion of popularity in the early 20^th century, Arirang has kept its solidification in the minds of the Korean people- both North and South alike. The song also made marks outside Korea as well as the song’s first ever documented recording in 1896 by American ethnologist Alice C. Fletcher of three Korean students, Ahn Jeong-sik, Lee Hee-cheol and Son, singing is now kept in the US Library of Congress. The song’s tune was also adapted into the 1986 Christian hymn “Christ, You Are the Fullest”, as well as was adopted, with former president Lee Seung-man’s permission, as the official march song of the U.S. Army’s 7^th Infantry Division which had been stationed in Korea during the Korean War. The song has also been translated and sung in multiple languages including English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, Italian, and German.

Arirang also has its place on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list where it holds two places due to South Korea submitting it back in 2012 and North Korea submitting it back in 2014. In 2015, the South Korean Cultural Heritage Administration added it to its list of intangible cultural assets. However, the song gained notable international attention during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics where the song was used as a unifying national anthem for the joint Korean team in which North Korea and South Korea marched into the stadium under one flag. The song was also sung throughout the events in which the joint teams participated together- a fact highlighted by several international press and drove the creation of several articles on not only the event but the song Arirang itself.

The term “Arirang” is still used in popular culture today. In South Korea, the broadcasting network Arirang delivers English-language news and content on Korea and Korean culture for audiences home and abroad while even the latest Korean pop stars pay homage to the song with their own covers and renditions. The name has also been used for South Korean satellite rockets like the Arirang-1 and an Arirang Festival takes place every year in Seoul to celebrate Arirang as well as other types of Korean music and culture. In North Korea they also hold an Arirang Festival which has its own place in the Guiness Book of World Records and is an annual event in which up to 100,000 performers participate in a uniquely grand spectacle. North Korea’s first nationally-produced cell-phone was also given the name Arirang.

Arirang Lyrics

Written by: Lacey Bonner

Originally from the Washington DC metropolitan area, 3rd year student and Candidate for a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Candidate for Bachelor of Arts in the Korean Language at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, current exchange student for a 1-year period at Korea University and intern at VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea)