Welcome to “Sounds of Korea” on KBS WORLD Radio. This traditional music program invites you to deepen your understanding about Korean traditional music by taking a closer look at various music-related topics every week. Today, we’ll talk about songs that sing of undying love. I’m your host ________. Please stay tuned, I’ll be back shortly.  

A scholar named Lim Je임제 from the mid-Joseon era was known as an esteemed writer but also among the most tasteful and cultured young men of the time. He was on his way to Pyongan-do평안도 Province to serve as a government official when he happened to visit the grave of Hwang Jin-i황진이, the most celebrated gisaeng in the country. The news of him writing a poem in her honor and offering her a memorial drink spread to the capital, resulting in his dismissal even before he reached his destination. He also gave a fan to a young gisaeng with a poem that went as follows. 

Don’t think it odd that I gave you a fan in the middle of the winter.

You are still too young to understand,

But when your heart burns hot with love sickness in the middle of the night,

You will feel hotter than in the sweltering heat of June.

He wrote another poem for a gisaeng named Hanwu한우, which means cold rain. This poem is still being sung to this day.

The northern sky was clear, so I left without any rain gear. 

It is now snowing in the mountains and raining in the fields.

Since I am wet with cold rain, I will probably freeze in my sleep.

Let’s listen to this song sung by R&B group Brown Eyed Soul.

The Northern Sky Is Clear/ Sung by Brown Eyed Soul

Upon hearing this poem, Hanwu replied in a poem of her own.

Why would you freeze in your sleep? How would you freeze in your sleep?

Why would you freeze in your sleep when you have embroidered pillows and a green blanket?

Since you are soaked with cold rain today, I will warm you up in your sleep.

Bi’ikyeonri비익연리 is a term that denotes eternal love. Bi’ikjo비익조 is a legendary pair of male and female birds that share a pair of wings and a pair of eyes. It can fly only when the two are together. Meanwhile, yeonriji연리지 refers to two trees born out of two separate roots that later become intertwined as one. These two creatures symbolize the undying love of a married couple as well as the devotion between the parents and their children. A poet from the Tang Dynasty likened the love between Emperor Xuanzong and his beloved consort, Yang Guifei, to the bi’ikjo and yeonriji. Let’s listen to haegeum artist Ccotbyeol playing “Lovers” from the original soundtrack of TV drama “Chuno: The Slave Hunters.” This piece communicates the existence of all-conquering love through the imaginary creature of bi’ikjo and the mysterious natural phenomenon of interlaced trees. 

Lovers/ Haegeum by Ccotbyeol

This week’s last music piece is a female gagok song entitled “I’ve Tied Up My Love.” Sometimes loving someone can be quite daunting and puts us in a quandary between a life free of clingy relationships and a life full of sacrifices for your loved ones. The main character in this song chooses to stick by her lover and never abandon him even when death threatens her. Would you make the same choice as this character if you were facing such a difficult fate? Think long and hard about it while you listen to this slow song written solely for a high and clear female voice. Kim Young-gi sings “I’ve Tied Up My Love” with Lee Jae-hwa playing the geomungo.

I’ve Tied Up My Love/ Sung by Kim Young-gi, geomungo by Lee jae-hwa