South Korea National Anthem
애국가
Aegukga
Aegukga
1907
1948
Yun Chi-ho or Ahn Changho (debated)
Ahn Eak-tai
🌿 Nature ❤ Love of homeland 💪 Resilience ✝ God / Faith |
Key Facts
- 1. Composer Ahn Eak-tai wrote the melody in 1935 while studying in the United States, and it was first performed at the end of that year at a Korean church in Chicago. He later settled in Spain and returned to Korea only in 1955, for the first time in 25 years.
- 2. The anthem references Mount Baekdu, which actually sits on the North Korean-Chinese border, meaning South Korea's anthem celebrates a mountain it has no territorial access to.
- 3. No South Korean law formally designates Aegukga as the national anthem: it holds that status by custom.
South Korea National Anthem Lyrics
동해물과 백두산이 마르고 닳도록
하느님이 보우하사 우리나라 만세.
[후렴]
무궁화 삼천리 화려강산
대한사람 대한으로 길이 보전하세.
남산 위에 저 소나무 철갑을 두른 듯
바람서리 불변함은 우리 기상일세.
[후렴]
가을 하늘 공활한데 높고 구름 없이
밝은 달은 우리 가슴 일편단심일세.
[후렴]
이 기상과 이 맘으로 충성을 다하여
괴로우나 즐거우나 나라 사랑하세.
[후렴]
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialThe lyrics date from around 1907, in the last years of the Korean Empire, when Japan was tightening its grip on the country. They were first sung to the Scottish tune 'Auld Lang Syne'. The current melody was composed by Ahn Eak-tai in 1935 while he was studying in the United States. The Korean Provisional Government in exile adopted it, but at home the lyrics were still sung to 'Auld Lang Syne' until 1948, when the new government of the Republic of Korea began using Ahn's melody at official functions.
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