The meaning behind ‘Arirang’: How BTS is connecting the past and the present

BTS is officially ready to make a comeback with their brand new album ‘Arirang’, there is a lot more meaning attached to this comeback. Other than being their first comeback in the last 3 to 4 years, the title ‘Arirang’ itself has a lot of cultural significance and importance in South Korea. Read on to know more about what it truly means.Originally, ‘Arirang’ is one of the oldest and most beloved folk songs in Korea. Also known as the country’s unofficial national anthem, it explores themes of love, hardship, endurance, separation, and hope. Although the song is said to be 100s of years old, the first recorded version of the song was made in 1896. Seven Korean students in the United States have been documented as the first people to record an audio of the song. It was recorded by American ethnologist Alice Cunningham Fletcher, who got the melody of the song on a series of wax cylinders that she had at her home at the time. The report comes from an old article from the Washington Post. The first official trailer was released by the famed K-pop boy group, which connected the dots to the past and showed the 7 members in 1896, standing around a phonograph, with the original melody of ‘Arirang’ playing in the background. The animated trailer continued, showing the 7 people traveling to a foreign land and recording the first-ever audio version of the song. The scene shifts to them performing ‘Not Today’ on a stage while hundreds of fans turn on their purple lights and watch them. Talking about the trailer, the group’s management agency issued a statement that the trailer was created for entertainment, and was only inspired by the historical event. Their statement read, “We wanted to share the story behind 'Arirang' with those who may not be familiar with the song. We hope more people will look up its lyrics and connect with the uniquely Korean emotions embedded in the music.”