In a recent interview with Vogue, “BTS (방탄소년단) Teaches You Korean,” during which four out of the seven members of the Korean boyband BTS teach a couple of Korean words and phrases. They were asked to explain “Arirang (아리랑),” the age-old and ubiquitously known Korean folksong as well as the namesake of their newest album released on March 19, 2026. The band member Suga (Min Yoongi) quickly comments “This is pure Korean.” Jungkook and J-Hope (Jung Hoseok) add that it means “missing you.” The members continue to ponder aloud, “It’s strange. We never learned about it anywhere, but everyone knows it. […] If you’re Korean, it’s something so familiar that it just naturally becomes engrained in your mind and is both a word and a song.”
While BTS brings back the centuries old folksong as the namesake of their new album “Arirang,” and integrated into the first song of their tracklist “Body to Body,” this is hardly the first time Arirang has gone viral in the media. In fact, the unofficial national anthem of Korea has a history of resurfacing every couple of years from the Song Ga-in’s Picture in My Heart (내 마음의 사진) OST for hit K-drama Crashlanding on You in 2020 to the reimagined modern interpretation Arirang Alone (홀로아리랑), composed and written by Han dol (한돌) in 1989 and popularized by covers performed by soloist Sohyang and singer Lee Seung-chul to an anthem representing national resistance against Japanese occupation in 1910-1945. So why is this 4-line folksong with an unknown origin so special?
Mysterious Origins from the 14th Century
Dating back roughly to the 14th-century during the Goryeo to Joseon dynasty transition period, this folksong has no exact origin. In fact, the song, as widespread as it is, was not properly recorded until the 1700s. Until then, this folksong was preserved through live performances, contributing to the multitudinous variations of Arirang. However, scholars can trace its origins to the Jeongseon region in Gangwando, noting in an article by 춘천의 시만의 신문 that “the lyrics of the yeokkeum arari [an older version of the song that consisted of woven verses] are still sung in the Jeongseon region. This yeokkeum arari traveled to Seoul, and as it was popularized, it seems like the ‘Arirang that came from Jeongseon’ became titled ‘Jeongseon Arirang’.”
According to UNESCO on Arirang, lyrical folksong in the Republic of Korea, while experts estimate the total number of variations to be around sixty, each associated with a different region of the Korean peninsula, the most well-known and popular version by far is the Gyeong-gi region’s Bonjo Arirang. This version, making a cameo appearance alongside traditional samulnori percussion in the last six measures of BTS’s Body to Body, has a lilting rhythm that evokes a sense of nostalgia and national pride amongst Koreans. Other regional Arirang variations include the Jindo Arirang from the Namdo/Jeollanam-do region known for its faster-paced tempo and southern dialect lyrics; the Miryang Arirang with its brisk and bouncing vocals that originated from the eastern Dongbu region; the Jeongsan Arirang with its seesawing melody and mournful lyrics; and the Haeju Arirang from the western Seobu region. Interestingly, though the melodies of each regional version vary from slow and mournful to fast-paced and cheerful, the lyrics of each variation remain relatively similar, including a message about longing and an obstacle such as a mountain pass.
Lyrics of Longing and a Symbol of Han (恨)
“아리랑 아리랑 아라리요
아리랑고개를 넘어간다.
나를 버리고 가시는 님은
십리도 못가서 발병난다.”
Kakao TV
Arirang, arirang, arariyo
(He) goes over the Arirang hill.
(He) who leaves me,
Will not even make it 10 li without his feet hurting
One of the most common interpretations of the standard Bonjo Arirang, as broken down by Talk to Me in Korean, suggests that the lyrics are sung from the perspective of a woman whose husband or lover is leaving her. She watches him travel over the Arirang pass or hill, and in her sorrow she says, “He won’t even make it 10 li [roughly 2.5 miles/ 4 km] without his feet hurting.” Though the lyrics may seem odd at first, the underlying tone speaks of longing and wishful hope that perhaps she can delay her husband’s departure. The Arirang hill, sometimes described as a winding mountain pass, is also often a metaphor for life’s difficulties.
The lyrics of this folksong not only reveal what life was like centuries ago, but also captures the spirit of a specific type of emotion Koreans refer to as Han. Han (한/恨), though it has no direct English translation, encapsulates the deep sadness, anger, and deep-seated resentment, but consequently, stubbornness, resilience, and the fiery will to survive. The Korean peninsula has a long and complex history of being invaded, suppressed, and colonized, partially due to its geographic location between other powerful nations. According to Im Kwon-taek, director of the 1993 cultural historical film Sopyonje (서편제), “Due to our history, it is something we cannot help but to uniquely, uniquely possess. In Japan, the concept might readily manifest itself as ‘revenge.’ However, here, to Korean people, it lingers like a bitter residue.” As every variation of Arirang always contains lyrics of longing and departure, perfectly depicting Han through music, the song has become a symbol of Korean-ness.
Survival of a Song
The survival of Arirang turns out to have been just as resilient as its singers. During Korea’s Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), the Japanese language was enforced as the official national language, and as such it was vital that Korean performing arts were also held to the same standards – to be performed and sung in Japanese. Assimilation pressures reportedly intensified during the 1930’s, and “colonial authorities banned sheet music of the ‘Arirang’ song, which had circulated widely throughout the Korean peninsula and diaspora in China, Hawaiʻi, Russia, and the United States.” However, despite the numerous bans of even the word “arirang,” the folk ballad continued to thrive, becoming a popular anthem of resistance, lyrics added and modified to express defiance against colonial rule.
Moreover, Arirang was often hummed by comfort women, a particularly deep scar within Korean history. The song served as a coping mechanism for their suffering as well as a small link to their homeland. In fact, off the coast of Okinawa, lies Akajima, a small remote island where a signboard with the words “Arirang Hill” still remains. The sign is a physical reminder of the battles that took place during the final stages of the Pacific War and the experiences of the comfort women. Many of the women would climb the Arirang hill, face north towards their homeland, and sing Arirang. In a KBS News documentary, the late Ms. Kaneshima Kikuae (가네시마 기쿠에) recalls Shinobu, Akaemi, Miharu, and Suzuki from the Eastern house and Ms. Machiko, Akemi, Koyuki, and Kohana of the Western house, explaining that they were like sisters, cooking meals together at the comfort women stations. “Yes, we sang Arirang together from time to time of course,” she responded to the interviewer’s question.
Today, in the 20th century, Korean culture is now shared around the world. However, Koreans will often remind themselves of the nation’s past hardships, and the enduring spirit it took to get to this point. Thus, the song Arirang, persevering through war, cultural erasure, and a political partition, often resurfaces in modern music, film, media, and performing arts, bringing with it a sense of nostalgia and national pride that transcends even the current political divisions of the Korean peninsula.
This song has somehow endured some of the most brutal times in history, and represents the immensely diverse culture that exists within the Korean peninsula while also being a symbol of unification. As the song has survived 600 years, most of which without accurate documentation and purely through word of mouth, perhaps Arirang was always meant to be performed, evolving overtime alongside the Korean people.
Want more Envi? Check out Enviʻs coverage of BTS and their historic album “Arirang”.
