- published: 03 Apr 2015
- views: 792697
"Arirang" is a Korean folk song, sometimes considered the unofficial national anthem of Korea. Arirang is an ancient native Korean word with no direct modern meaning.
Many variations of the song exist. They can be grouped into classes based on the lyrics, when the refrain is sung, the nature of the refrain, the overall melody, and so on. Titles of different versions of the song are usually prefixed by their place of origin or some other kind of signifier.
The original form of Arirang is Jeongseon Arirang, which has been sung for more than 600 years. However, the most famous version of Arirang is that of Seoul. It is the so-called Bonjo Arirang, although it is not actually "standard" (bonjo: 본조; 本調). This version is usually simply called Arirang, and is of relatively recent origin. It was first made popular by its use as the theme song of the influential early feature film Arirang (1926). This version of the song is also called Sin Arirang (Shin; "new") or Gyeonggi Arirang, after its provenance, Seoul, which was formerly part of Gyeonggi Province. (The titles Bonjo Arirang and Sin Arirang are also sometimes applied to other versions of the song.)