Aegukga

Aegukga
English: Patriotic Song
애국가

National anthem of South Korea
Former national anthem of North Korea (1947–1948)
LyricsUnknown (probably Yun Chi-ho or Ahn Changho), 1896[1]
MusicAhn Eak-tai, 1936
AdoptedAugust 1948; 76 years ago (1948-08)
Aegukga
Hangul
애국가
Revised RomanizationAegukga
McCune–ReischauerAegukka

"Aegukga" (Korean애국가), often translated as "The Patriotic Song", is the national anthem of South Korea. It was adopted in 1948, the year the country's government was founded. Its music was composed in the 1930s and arranged most recently in 2018; its lyrics date back to the 1890s. The lyrics of "Aegukga" were originally set to the music of the Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" before Ahn Eak-tai composed a unique melody specifically for it in 1936. Before the founding of South Korea, the song, set to the music of "Auld Lang Syne", was sung, as well when Korea was under Japanese rule by dissidents. The version set to the melody composed by Ahn Eak-tai was adopted as the national anthem of the Korean exile government, which existed during Korea's occupation by Japan from the early 1910s to the mid-1940s.

"Aegukga" has four verses, but on most occasions only the first one, followed by the chorus, is sung when performed publicly at events such as baseball games and football matches.

  1. ^ (CHEONGWADAE), 청와대. "대한민국 청와대". Blue House. Archived from the original on 2015-06-10.