Jeongseon Arirang is considered the oldest among many different Arirang songs. This Arirang was inspired by a tale of loyal officials of Goryeo. Loyal officials were the symbols of integrity and fidelity, who vowed never to serve two kings. But when the kingdom of Goryeo was usurped by the founders of the Joseon Dynasty, Goryeo court officials could not find it in their hearts to serve the new Joseon king nor take their own lives. So, they chose to leave this world and live in hiding deep in the mountains. The place where many officials went to hide out was Jeongseon, Gangwon-do Province. Jeongseon, located deep in the mountainous region, isn’t an easy place to access even today, so imagine how difficult it would have been to travel there. Men in self-imposed exile willingly endured the difficult lives in the remote region, but they couldn’t help missing their loved ones they left back home. So they wrote a poem about their loneliness and love for their families, which became Jeongseon Arirang among the common people. Given such a backstory, it is understandable that the lonesome and mournful tone of Jeongseon Arirang sounds like a deep sigh. Today, we’ll begin with Kim Byung-ki and Park Kyeong-won singing “Jeongseon Arari.”   

Jeongseon Arari/ Sung by Kim Byung-ki, Park Kyeong-won

The most well-known verses of Jeongseon Arirang go as follows.

Is it going to snow? Is it going to rain? Is it going to be a rainy season?

Dark clouds of Mansusan Mountain are coming.

These verses contain the origin of “Jeongseon Arirang.” There were two villages facing each other from Auraji아우라지 ferry point of Jeongseon. A young man from one village and a young girl from the other were dating in secret, when one day the river flooded to keep the two lovers apart. The young couple blamed the heaven and sang a song, which became Jeongseon Arari. Whether this origin is true or not is irrelevant as the people of Jeongseon have always enjoyed this song. They sang this song when they were chopping firewood or collecting mountain herbs. People who farmed in the high, steep mountains sang “Jeongseon Arari” back and forth over the valley to make sure that they were safe and well. This “Arari” is called “Jeongseon Arirang” nowadays, which is often confused with the “Jeongseon Arirang” sung by the folk singers of Gyeonggi-do Province. The Gyeonggi-do “Jeongseon Arirang” begins with “Twelve-thousand peaks and eighty-thousand temples of Geumgangsan Mountain in Gangwon-do Province.” Let’s listen to this Gyeonggi version of “Jeongseon Arirang” sung by Song So-hee accompanied by gugak ensemble The Second Moon. 

Jeongseon Arirang/ Sung by Song So-hee, accompanied by The Second Moon

In February of 2018, the 23^rd PyeongChang Winter Olympics were held in PyeongChang평창, not that far from Jeongseon. Korea’s first winter Olympics was applauded as the most well-organized Winter Olympic Games of all time. The music director who oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies was Korean composer and pianist Yang Bang-ean양방언. Before the Olympics, he released “Echoes for PyeongChang,” an album containing several variations of Jeongseon Arirang, together with such distinguished musicians as Song So-hee, Jeon In-kwon전인권 Band, vocalist Ha Hyun-woo of rock band Guckkasten국카스텐, violinist Park Ji-hae and Japanese guitarist Kotaro Oshio. Today, we’ll listen to Ha Hyun-woo’s rendition of “Jeongseon Arirang.” His version touches our hearts in a different way from the one sung by older singers. Here’s Ha Hyun-woo singing “Jeongseon Arirang” arranged by Yang Bang-ean.

Jeongseon Arirang/ Arranged by Yang Bang-ean, sung by Ha Hyun-woo