Arirang is a family of Korean folk songs. A recognisable refrain can connect versions with different words, melodies and arrangements. In North Korea, UNESCO’s account describes songs learned through family and community life as well as performances by professional groups. Their subjects include separation, reunion, grief and joy.
UNESCO inscribed the Republic of Korea’s Arirang entry in 2012 and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s entry in 2014. The records give readers two ways into a shared singing tradition. Start with the repeated part of a performance, listen for what changes, then compare how the two entries describe the people who keep the songs in use.
- A refrain is a part of a song that returns.
- A version may have a distinct melody or words. An arrangement changes how a version is presented.
- The UNESCO dates record two inscription decisions. The singing tradition is older.
UNESCO’s 2014 DPRK inscription decision
Choose a reading route
What listeners recognise · Try a two-recording comparison · Frequently asked questions
Chapters 1–4 · Understand the subject
Chapters 5–7 · Work with the evidence
Chapter 1 of 7
What listeners recognise
You can make sense of an Arirang performance before you understand every word. Listen for a phrase that comes back at similar points. At each return, ask whether the same voice sings it and whether it keeps the same pace. After one or two repetitions, you may be able to anticipate the entrance even though the intervening lines are new to you. That expectation is part of how a refrain works.
Now listen once through for the verse. A verse can carry the particular emotion, incident or image of a version. UNESCO’s DPRK description points to experiences of leaving and meeting again alongside sadness and pleasure. Two versions can share a recognisable refrain and tell different stories. If you have a translation, read one verse before listening again. Mark where the voice pauses and which words receive the most time. A translation can help with meaning while the recording supplies timing and emphasis.
The melody also deserves separate attention. Follow the rise and fall of the sung line, even if you have no music notation. If a new performance feels unfamiliar, ask whether the melody changed or whether a familiar melody arrived in a different voice, register or tempo. One change belongs to the tune itself. The other may come from a performer’s choices.
UNESCO’s 2014 DPRK inscription decision
Chapter 2 of 7
Version and arrangement
An arrangement is a way of presenting a piece. A singer might perform with little accompaniment. A stage group might pass the same line from a soloist to a choir. Instruments can fill the space between verses or add a new introduction. Each decision changes what the listener notices and how readily a group can join in. UNESCO’s 2014 decision describes both traditional versions and modern or symphonic presentations.
Here is a way to distinguish an arrangement from a version. Imagine two recordings with the same tune and words. One is sung alone and one has a choir and strings. You have strong reasons to describe the difference as arrangement. If the tune and words differ as well, record those differences separately. The performers or catalogue may already give the version a local name. Use it when the source identifies it.
When your source is an edited performance video, note where it cuts to another setting or ensemble. A film can move between examples without saying that the same people usually sing together. Describing the individual scenes gives you a firmer basis for discussing variety.
UNESCO’s 2014 DPRK inscription decision
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Chapter 3 of 7
How someone learns a folk song
UNESCO’s DPRK decision describes family and local settings, schools and other settings for learning. It also records the roles of professional groups and local safeguarding societies. Learning by ear can begin with recognising the repeated line. A more experienced singer can then demonstrate when to enter, how to breathe through a phrase or what happens when a verse is changed.
An archive and a teacher pass on different things. A recording lets a student hear a performance again. A teacher can answer a question about how a line fits the melody or why one version is used for an occasion. A community gathering gives learners a setting where they can try singing with other people and hear when the group comes back together.
If a report says a programme has documented a local version, record exactly what the programme says it collected. A transcript, a recording, an interview and a performance description each carry different evidence. The North Korean periodic report is an account submitted by the country. For a claim about where or how often people sing today, check the dates and scope of the underlying observations.
DPRK periodic report to UNESCO
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Chapter 4 of 7
What the two UNESCO records say
The South Korean entry emphasises regional variation, the ability to create new verses and the work of local practitioners. The North Korean decision discusses oral transmission, several performance settings and the work of safeguarding groups. Both describe something people do and pass on. The two pages supply neither a single definitive score nor a simple count of everybody who participates.
A useful comparison with Korean wrestling shows how the records work. Arirang has two separate entries. Traditional Korean wrestling has a joint entry that names the two countries together. In both cases there is a Korean tradition with local forms. You can explain the UNESCO procedure by identifying what the committee inscribed, under what title and in which year.
Treat the year of an inscription, the year of a filmed performance and the time a version took shape as separate dates. A student who does that can write a reliable caption for a recording even when the early history of the tune is uncertain.
UNESCO’s Republic of Korea Arirang entry
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Chapter 5 of 7
Try a two-recording comparison
Choose one example from the UNESCO archive and one from the Republic of Korea entry. Record the title, publisher and any date or place shown. Listen once to find the refrain. Then listen again and make a note of who sings it, whether instruments accompany it and where the next verse begins.
Write three short sentences. Start with a similarity you can hear. Then describe one difference in the tune, accompaniment or voices. Finally, identify what each catalogue record says about its source. If you cannot verify where a clip was recorded, use the publisher’s name and leave the location open. That gives a reader enough information to repeat the comparison.
UNESCO multimedia archive — DPRK Arirang recording
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Chapter 6 of 7
What an archive keeps and what it leaves open
The UNESCO archive identifies the North Korean recording’s source and rights holder. That information is useful when a clip circulates under a generic title such as “traditional Arirang”. You can use the catalogue to recover who submitted the material and why it was collected. If a platform attaches an exact location or date that the catalogue does not confirm, keep that part of the caption provisional.
An archive made for a nomination has a specific purpose. The selection can demonstrate variety and show that people recognise and practise the tradition. Its examples should be read in that context. For a school project about a particular local version, look for a named singer, a place and a performance context. A well-described example gives your project a clearer foundation than several copies of the same unattributed clip.
UNESCO multimedia archive — DPRK Arirang recording
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Chapter 7 of 7
Write about shared heritage with precision
Start by naming the practice you can support. You might write that both UNESCO entries describe Arirang as a tradition with multiple forms and identify a refrain as a recurring element. Then describe one difference in emphasis between the two pages. This is a comparison of documented descriptions. A claim about exactly how singing differs between two communities would need evidence from those communities.
A performance can also acquire a meaning from its occasion. The same tune may be experienced differently at a family gathering, a formal concert or a public commemoration. Listen for the people and setting as well as the sound. That wider description helps a reader understand how a song can stay recognisable while the occasion, performance style and feelings attached to it keep changing.
UNESCO’s Republic of Korea Arirang entry
Contents · Previous chapter · Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is Arirang one fixed song?
The name covers a tradition with many versions. A recurring phrase can make two performances recognisable as Arirang even when the rest sounds different.
Did UNESCO create a single listing for both Koreas?
The 2012 Republic of Korea entry and 2014 DPRK entry are separate. The committee’s record gives the title and scope of each inscription.
Where can I hear a documented North Korean example?
The UNESCO multimedia archive hosts a recording submitted in connection with the DPRK nomination. Its catalogue names the source and rights holder.
Sources and next reading
Primary sources
- UNESCO’s 2014 DPRK inscription decision
- UNESCO’s Republic of Korea Arirang entry
- UNESCO multimedia archive — DPRK Arirang recording
- DPRK periodic report to UNESCO