Director Na Un-gyu’s film “Arirang” is a silent movie that was released in 1926. The acclaimed film used realistic filmmaking techniques, rarely used at the time, to depict the Korean people’s suffering. The plot centers around a young man named Yeong-jin영진, who went mad under the torture of the Japanese. When Ki-ho, a Korean traitor collaborating with the Japanese police, attempts to rape his sister, Yeong-jin kills him in his delusional state of mind. Arirang is the song the people of Yeong-jin’s village sing as he’s taken away by the police. A filmmaker who had seen the movie at the time of its release described it as “exciting,” similar to the impact he had felt when a member of the Korean resistance threw a bomb at the Japanese occupiers. The film’s success also spurred the popularity of its theme song, Arirang, which came to be called “Bonjo본조 Arirang,” meaning the original or basic Arirang. Eventually “Bonjo Arirang” became a demarcation piece that divided Korea’s iconic folk song into the old versions, which came before Bonjo Arirang, and the new versions.
Music 1: Bonjo Arirang/ Sung by Kim Yong-woo
The song you just heard was “Bonjo Arirang” sung by Kim Yong-woo. The movie’s theme song was supposedly written by the director himself. The following interview is about how was inspired to write the song.

My hometown as Hoiryeong회령 near the northern border. When I was an elementary school student, a railroad was being built from Cheongjin청진 to Hoiryeong. A large number of laborers from the south came to lay the steel rails. While they worked, they sang a soulful song that went “Arirang, arirang.” The melody left a deep impression in my mind and whenever I heard workers singing that song, I stopped to listen to it for a while. I also tried to sing the beautiful and sorrowful tune when I was by myself. Later when I came to Seoul, I looked for this song, but had a hard time finding it because only the Gangwon-do version of the folk song was played now and then. Even professional singers didn’t know much about the song, so I wrote the piece myself. I wrote the lyrics based on the tunes from my memory and a band I knew wrote the music notes.

The theme song, more than the movie itself, left a far-reaching influence on Korea’s cultural and social scene. This Arirang is proof that a song can have more power than anyone can imagine. The Arirang rendition with the longest history is supposedly “Jeongseon Arari정선아라리,” which sings of life’s hardship and sorrow. The Jeongseon Arari we’re going to hear now is sung by Kim Byung-ki and Park Gyeong-won.
Music 2: Jeongseon Arari/ Sung by Kim Byung-ki and Park Gyeong-won
MC: Homer Hulbert was a missionary, historian, and linguist, who came to Korea in the early 20th century at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. He eventually got involved in Korean politics as he helped King Gojong navigate the turbulent political waters. He was also the first person to transcribe “Arirang” on sheet music. He then publicized it to the western world as “the staple song of the Korean people.” During World War I, Germany recorded the languages and folk songs of soldiers from different ethnic groups imprisoned in German prisoner-of-war camps, and one of the songs recorded by German authorities was “Arirang” sung by the ethnic Korean soldiers from the Russian army. This story illustrated that “Arirang” was the song that helped maintain the Korean people’s identity, even in the most uncertain and frightening situations. The last Arirang we’re going to enjoy today is “Jindo Arirang” sung by Real Group.
Music 3: Jindo Arirang/ Sung by Real Group