History of the Arirang

     Many people believe that the Arirang song originated from the 14th-century tale of 'seven wise men in a bamboo forest,' as shown in Kang'won-do Arirang, which is popular in Kang'won-do, the mid-eastern province, or the legend of Arang in the middle of the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910), as exemplified in Miryang Arirang​ (Yong-Shik Lee 2013)​. Some scholars trace the word 'arirang' to myths of ancient states. Of the four main Arirang songs, Arirang, Kang'won-do Arirang, Chindo Arirang, and Miryang Arirang, three evolved in the first portion of the 20th century. These four versions represent each region in Korea, Seoul, the mid-eastern province, the southwestern province, and the southeastern province. Kang'won-do Arirang is the ancient version sung by the folk in mountainous areas and is known as the original folk song from which many other versions were created from.

     The Arirang song was first made 'public' by an American missionary, Homer B. Hulbert, in 1896 (Yong-Shik Lee 2013). He published his article titled "Korean Vocal Music," where he notated the popular version that was sung in Seoul and the Central province. It was the first notated folk song in Korean history.