About the Mungyeong Saejae Arirang

• History

  Arirang, the long-standing famous Korean lyric folk song, contains the word Gogae, which means mountain pass, in its lyrics, and an emerging theory presumes that the mountain pass indicated the Mungyeong Saejae pass that was used to connect Hanyang (capital) and other regions during the 500 years of Joseon dynasty. The supporting background for this theory is that, during the construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Mungyeong Arirang, which is one of the various versions of Arirang, was spread nationwide through singers. Furthermore, the Mungyeong Arirang version was sung 17 times in 14 out of 30 counties in the Yeongnam region, which is considered as a nationwide trend.
  The Mungyeong Saejae Arirang version was recently listed as a world heritage, which was actually the first version to be spread to the West. The American Homer Bezaleel Hulbert noted Arirang in the western sheet music in 1896, the first of its kind, by using the Mungyeong Saejae Arirang.
  Hulbert's notation data: In 1896, the American Homer Bezaleel Hulbert noted the Arirang song in western sheet music, the first of its kind, by using the Mungyeong Saejae Arirang version. It was written as "Mun-kyung sai-chai", which is another transliteration of "Mungyeong Saejae", in Korean vocal sheet music.
  A folk song contains its key point in the first verse, generally because it features the song background, song title, and preference. An example of a typical folk song is Mungyeong Arirang.
  The lyrics of the first verse are as follows: "Mungyeong Saejae! Black birch / All move forward with Hongdukke bat."
  The lyrics suggest that the song originated in Mungyeong, and that there was a sense of losing black birch trees, which were cut and transported for use, in the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace. This further suggests that it was the historical background and Prince Daewongun's ruling in the late Joseon period.
  In addition, in the song creation period, the community widely sang Arirang, thus criticizing Daewongun's exploitation of property. Such community resistance through Arirang was not limited to Mungyeong. At the time, people across the nation were very rebellious and enraged at Daewongun's forced labor and exportation of property, so the first verse of Mungyeong Arirang was perfect for obtaining sympathy. As a result, the song was spread nationwide.
  
  In the old days where there was no means for good communication or for the existence of mass media like today, it was difficult to spread songs nationwide. During that time, Mungyeong Arirang was the best pop song to win the hearts of the people. Such evidence has been confirmed through records and other inherited folk songs.
  This has been proven by a survey conducted in 1912 by the Japanese Government-General of Korea that revealed various versions of Arirang in some 30 counties nationwide, and the word "Mungyeong Saejae" was confirmed in the lyrics of these versions of Arirang. Among the three arguments, the first argument, which referred to the background for the spreading of the song, explained that it was a political reason, and Mungyeong Arirang was widely sung during the seven years of the construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, thus prompting the creation of Arirang nationwide.