"" (
Chosŏn'gŭl: ), officially translated as "Patriotic Song", is the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
of
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. It was composed in 1945 as a patriotic song celebrating independence from
Japanese occupation and was adopted as the state anthem in 1947. Performance of this anthem is prohibited in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
under the
National Security Act.
Etymology
"Aegukka" is a Romanized transliteration of "The Patriotic Song"; the song is also known by its
incipit
The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...
''Ach'imŭn pinnara'' or "Let Morning Shine"
or in its Korean name or alternatively as the "Song of a Devotion to a Country".
The ''
Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
The ''Encyclopedia of Korean Culture'' () is a Korean-language encyclopedia published by the Academy of Korean Studies and DongBang Media Co. It was originally published as physical books from 1991 to 2001. There is now an online version of the ...
'' defines the word "Aegukka" as "the song to wake up the mind to love the country". "Aegukka" in itself is differentiated from a national anthem. While a national anthem or ''gukka'' () is an official symbol of the state, ''aegukka'' refers to any song, official or unofficial, that contains patriotic fervor towards its country, such as
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
's "
Szózat" or the U.S. "
The Stars and Stripes Forever". However, the nationally designated "Aegukka" plays the role of symbolizing the country.
In general shorthand, the term ''aegukka'' refers to the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
of
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
.
History
Originally, the
Korean exile government (1919–1945) in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
adopted as their
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
"
Aegukga
"" (), 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 da ...
" (which has the same name with a different Romanization) to the tune of "
Auld Lang Syne". After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
kept the words, put to a new tune (changed from "
Auld Lang Syne"), while North Korea adopted this newly written piece in 1947.
The words were written by
Pak Se-yong and the music was composed by
Kim Won-gyun.
In the early 1980s,
Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...
sought to reduce the song's importance to the benefit of "
Song of General Kim Il Sung".
The complete version of "Aegukka" consists two verses. On official occasions, when only the first verse is performed, it is customary to repeat the last four bars. However, if both verses are performed, it is the last four bars of the second verse that are repeated instead. "Song of General Kim Il Sung" and "
Song of General Kim Jong Il" have since taken the place of ''de facto'' national anthems domestically, and "Aegukka" is reserved for representing North Korea internationally: when foreign dignitaries visit the country or North Korean athletes compete at international sporting competitions.
"Aegukka" is almost unique among most North Korean patriotic songs, as it praises neither the
Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...
nor the
Kim family, but rather the whole of Korea itself.
"Aegukka" is played at the start of each of
Korean Central Television's broadcast days.
In February 2024, in line with
Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...
's announcement of officially abandoning efforts to peacefully reunifying Korea, the lyrics were partially modified, with the phrase "three thousand
ri" () referring to the Korean Peninsula being replaced by "this world" ().
On 17 April 2024, a ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of 10,000 new homes in Hwasong District, Pyongyang, in which the national anthem was performed. This was broadcast on Korea Central Television, and was rebroadcast on the next day, 18 April. However, during the rebroadcast, the title was changed from ''Aegukka'' () to "National Anthem of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (). It has been speculated that this was done to further strengthen the division between the north and south after
North Korea abandoned the idea of peaceful reunification, by giving the national anthem a different title to that of South Korea. However, the
Constitution of North Korea, in Article 171, still mentions that the national anthem is ''Aegukka'', and there have been no reports regarding revision of this article. On 25 October 2024, the Standing Committee of the
Supreme People's Assembly
The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified ...
adopted the "Law of the DPRK on the National Anthem", without reporting what the new law mandates.
Lyrics
2024–present
1947–2024
See also
*
National symbols of North Korea
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
Lyrics in Englishat
Naenara
Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government.
History
Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996.
Usage
Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...
Lyrics in Koreanat
Naenara
Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government.
History
Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996.
Usage
Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...
Lyrics in Englishat
Kim Il-Sung University"Aegukka" (mp3)at Naenara
{{Authority control
North Korean songs
Asian anthems
National symbols of North Korea
Compositions in B-flat major
National anthems