Arirang

For the 2011 movie, see Arirang (2011 movie).

Arirang in North Korea
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
A man about to depart on a journey through a mountain pass is seen off by a woman in a scene from the Arirang Festival in North Korea.
Country	North Korea
Reference	914
Region	Asia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	2014 (9th session)

Arirang in South Korea
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Song So-hee performing "Arirang"
Country	South Korea
Reference	445
Region	Asia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	2012 (7th session)

Arirang
Hangul	아리랑
Revised Romanization	Arirang
McCune–Reischauer	Arirang
IPA	a.ɾi.ɾaŋ

Arirang performed by the United States Army Band Chorus with a tenor singer

"Arirang" (아리랑; [a.ɾi.ɾaŋ]) is a Korean folk song. It is sometimes thought of as the unofficial national anthem of Korea. There are almost 3,600 variations for 60 versions of the song. All of these have a part of the song similar to "Arirang, arirang, arariyo (아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요)". People think that the song is almost 600 years old.

"Arirang" is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list two times. This is because both South Korea and North Korea submitted the song for being included on the list. It was submitted by South Korea in 2012 and then by North Korea in 2014. The South Korean Cultural Heritage Administration added the song to its list of important intangible cultural assets in 2015.

History

Origin

People think that "Arirang" came from Jeongseon in the Gangwon Province of South Korea. According to a legend, the song came from the story of a man and a woman who fell in love. This was while they were picking camellia flowers. In one version of the story, the man can't cross the Auraji river because the water is too high. Because of this, they sing a song to show how sorrowful they were. In the second version of the story, the man tries to cross the Auraji and drowns. In that version, he sings the song after he dies.

Another theory says that the song came from Lady Aryeong. It says that "arin" came from the Jurchen word for "hometown" and a Chinese song called "Airang."