In the early morning hours of December 16 Korea received news from the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Paris, France. The good tiding was that the nation’s iconic folk song, Arirang, was at last named a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Arirang was finally inscribed on to a list of heritages that should be shared with the world and preserved for all mankind. Here’s Im Don-hee, professor at Dongguk University and Assistant Director of the Cultural Properties Committee to tell us more.

Arirang is the most beloved song of the Korean people, a song that has the power to bind not only local Koreans but also ethnic Koreans who live abroad. Some people think of Arirang as the second Korean anthem. It is special to us Koreans, because it has been with us through every trial and tribulation in Korean history. There are not that many countries that have a song they can call a national song. Korea has many intangible cultural assets, but having Arirang inscribed as one is more meaningful, because it is Korea’s most iconic song.

Now Korea has fifteen UNESCO cultural heritages of humanity in all, together with Jongmyo Jeryeak, the ceremonial music for royal ancestral tributes, and Korean folk opera known as pansori.

Korea’s Cultural Properties Administration first applied to be inscribed on to the UNESCO intangible heritage list in August 2009. At the time, Jeongseon Arirang was nominated along with Korean classic song genre called gagok, falconry, and master architect. While the last three were named UNESCO intangible cultural heritages, Jeongseon Arirang was excluded from review, because the UNESCO Secretariat has a rule that limits the number of heritages to be reviewed per country. Once removed from the entry, an applicant has to wait a certain period of time before it can be resubmitted for assessment. So for the next two years Arirang was out of contest. But then an unforeseen problem arose from China. Here’s Professor Im Don-hee of Dongguk University again.

China registered Arirang as its national cultural heritage. Some people were worried that China was getting ready to have Korea’s Arirang selected as China’s intangible cultural heritage with UNESCO, a part of China’s insidious scheme to claim Korea’s ancient history as part of its own. There are 56 ethnic minority groups in China, but the Han takes up 90% of the entire Chinese population. China has a policy that it claims ownership over the cultural traditions of ethnic minorities living within its territorial boundary. Sixteen intangible cultural assets of ethnic Koreans living in China, which include Arirang, Korean wrestling, ssireum, and Korean traditional wedding ceremony, have been registered as China’s own.

Stunned and outraged by China’s gall to register Korea’s Arirang as a Chinese cultural property, Koreans moved fast and aggressively to register Korea’s quintessential song with UNESCO as a world cultural heritage. Korean cultural authorities put Arirang at the top of the application list so that it could be reviewed ahead of any other Korean heritages. They also revised the application to include not only Jeongseon Arirang, but all songs that end with “arirang, arirang, arariyo” as Arirang. Additionally, the Arirang Globalization Committee was launched to spearhead various activities related to Arirang’s induction into the honored list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Arirang publicity videos were played at all 486 stations of subway lines five through eight in Seoul. The videos initiated a petition drive supporting Arirang’s inscription on to UNESCO’s intangible heritage list and young people stages an Arirang flash mob in downtown Seoul to draw people’s attention to the plight of Korea’s most well-known song. Here’s Director Yi Un-suk of the Arirang Globalization Committee to tell us more.

A flash mob refers to a group of people who suddenly dance in public without giving any prior notice. The Arirang flash mob was planned by some fifty universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi area. There were between thirty and fifty participants, who showed people their love for Arirang by group-dancing in busy city streets of Dongdaemun, Hongdae, Myeongdong, and Mok-dong. The Arirang version they danced to was the rock version sung by Yoon Do-hyun. Once the flash dance was over, a student leader would explain to the audience why they staged an Arirang flash mob. The dancers would work up the crowd to clap and cheer for Arirang. Most of the activities took place mainly in November.

All these efforts at last resulted in Arirang being inscribed on to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Here’s Professor Im Don-hee again.

UNESCO has a certain set of criteria for registering an intangible cultural asset. The highest importance is placed on a cultural heritage that has been passed down for generations, for hundreds of years within one community. In that respect Arirang is a song that has survived many generations and that is still being sung frequently by Koreans. It meets the UNESCO criteria perfectly. It should also be noted that Arirang is not confined to one area, but all over the country. Each region, say Seoul or Jeongseon or Miryang, has its own version of Arirang. That’s Arirang’s strength.

Arirang was sometimes sung as a work song in an agricultural community, and sometimes as a song of lament or a love song. Arirang was able to transcend time and place, because each region has preserved its own Arirang lyrics and melodies for centuries. Here’s Lee Si-hwa of the Arirang Globalization Committee.

Arirang is a poem composed of two lines, the simplest form of poem. It has the simple charm typical of a folk song. Arirang versions were first preserved in rural communities, then expanded to urban areas and then passed to all areas of society. There are no other heritages that have been simultaneously preserved and expanded by the private sector. In time, Arirang’s influence reached into pop culture and creative music. The most noticeable characteristic of Arirang is that every Korean, whether a local or an expat, would sing Arirang to represent the country and cheer on Korean athletes at international events like the World Cup or the Olympics. The song represents the soul of Korea.

Jeju-do Arirang’s lyrics describe the rocky landscape of the island and the abundant sea and the hard life of women divers, haenyeo. Here’s Director Yi Un-suk of the Arirang Globalization Committee to tell us more.



Arirang’s lyrics contain the lives of people who lived in that region at a specific time. Not that many people are familiar with Jeju Arirang, but it goes something like this. “A Jeju maiden harvests seaweed and a sailor rows the boat to the tune of Arirang.” See how the lyrics sing the life of a hanyeo.

Jindo Arirang is islanders’ Arirang. It sings of fishermen’s hope of big catch of fishermen’s boredom as they wait for their next boats. Jindo Arirang shows how fishermen kept themselves entertained during the lull in their activities.

Gangwon-do Arirang, Miryang Arirang, Gyeonggi Arirang, and so on…each region had its own version of Arirang, a testament to the lives led by ordinary people in the area.

No one is sure when or how Arirang came to be part of every Korean’s soul. But Arirang has been with the Korean people in joy and in sorrow. Koreans endured the dark years under the ruthless Japanese colonial rule by singing Arirang, and ethnic Koreans scattered in 135 countries around the world have eased their homesickness with Arirang. Within the heart of every Korean community lies Arirang. When Koreans need to stand as one, Arirang is always there to bring us together.

Anyone can adapt Arirang to different lyrics and rhythms. The reinvention of Arirang can be endless.

Singer Yoon Do-hyun has added a strong rock beat to Arirang, turning it into an energizing celebratory music.

Then, jazz vocalist Na Youn-sun’s rendition of Gangwon-do Arirang was so captivating that it stayed at the top of the French jazz chart for four weeks straight. Made over by various musicians, Arirang is spreading out to every corner of the globe. Now that it is a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, it will be accessible to an even wider audience and be even more appreciated. Here’s Professor Im Don-hee of Dongguk University again.

Being registered as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage is the first step to globalization, not the end. We still need to make every effort to spread it to a bigger audience. To that end, there must be an organized, systematic, and long-term globalization attempt. That’s why UNESCO ardently advocates the preservation of traditional cultural heritages, to nurture it, to develop it, and to cherish it. We need to safeguard Arirang and other valuable cultural heritages so that they can be passed down intact to our future generations.

After Arirang was named a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, the Arirang Globalization Committee started making a 3D movie about Arirang, with a worldwide release date set for sometime next year. Here’s Director Yi Un-suk of the Arirang Globalization Committee to tell us more.

The total running time will be forty minutes and the entire film will be in 3D. This live action film is playable on 3D TVs as well. We plan to send the videos to Korean expats and overseas LG and Samsung Electronics stores, so that everyone would know about Korea’s Arirang. The film features beautiful images, the soulful sounds of Arirang, and some special computer graphic effects, which is going to blow you away.

In 1926, under the Japanese rule, film director Na Un-kyu made “Arirang,” in which the frustration and sorrow of losing one’s motherland were projected on to the song Arirang. Several directors have since then remade the acclaimed film. The film “Arirang” under production now will trace the globalization process of the song and demonstrate how proud the Korean people are about this cultural icon.

A group of Arirang supporters was established to speed up the globalization process. The young members of this group have pledged to understand the story and sentiments behind Arirang and bring it up to date for the 21st-century. Here’s Chae Hee-do, one of the Arirang supporters.

Before I joined the group, I didn’t have much interest or knowledge about Arirang. But as I got more involved with the group, I realized that there are many versions and the song is still evolving, a living and thriving folk song. It’s more than just Korea’s folk song, an old song. It’s being passed down while it’s continuously changing and evolving. Arirang embodies all human emotions, like anger, hesitation, love, and longing. It’s really an interesting piece of music.

Driven these young people’s passionate dedication to Arirang, Korea’s most iconic folk song will be sung and recognized by people around the globe.