Arirang

"Arirang" (; )  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 ()". 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."

References

Category:Folk songs
Category:History of Korea
Category:Songs in Korean