This well-known and still popular Korean folk song has
been sung for over 600 years with the original being known as Jeongseon
Arirang, which is the area of Korea it came from.Having appeared in many versions throughout the
centuries, the best known and most standard is "Bonjo Arirang", normally
just shortened to "Arirang", which hails from Seoul from a much more recent
time.Other early versions of
the song include "Jindo Arirang" and "Miryang Arirang", both named after
the province they hail from and "Paldo Arirang" which is used for many of
the regional variations of it.The word "Arirang" has no direct meaning in modern language as it is
from ancient Korean but when split up the word "Ari" is beautiful and "Rang"
is dear.In the three verse song
it describes a mountain pass named "Arirang" and although there are
supposedly several passes with that name in Korea the one that is best
known had its name changed from Jeongneung Pass to Arirang Pass in 1926
when the film of that name was released. It is the official march of the 7th Infantry
Division of the United States Army and John Barnes Chance, who is an
American composer, based his Variations on a Korean Folk Song on it.
Chanticleer recordings
Arirang (c15th
Century Korean)
Teldec 16676 (CD: Wondrous Love: A World Folk Song
Collection)
