[KS] Irridentist songs and anti-beef protests?
Alice S. Kim
kim.alice.s at gmail.com
Sun Jun 15 09:12:58 EDT 2008
Kirk,
Here is a link to a video of Ahn Chi-hwan singing his song at the
protest and the lyrics to the whole song in Korean. It is called 광야
에서(Gwang-ya-ae-suh) - I think you can translate it to something
like 'At the wide plain.' This was one of Ahn Chi-hwan's most popular
minjung songs or peoples songs from the democracy movement in the
1980s - it's also a song that almost everyone knows (across
generations it seems). (A friend suggested the imperfect comparison to
Joan Baez.)
http://supermicky.egloos.com/459085
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=FpwSZgoV7r4
(this one just video)
That one line quoted in the IHT article (partnered with Joogang in SK
btw) is a rather selective sampling of the song and taken out of
context. (The rest of the article is equally annoying, it throws
around nationalism way too carelessly - if you look for it it will be
there but to say that that is the dominant ethos of these protests is
in my view mistaken - not to mention if the nationalism is of a
defensive or aggressive type.) Ahn Chi-hwan performed the song that
day along with 'Jayu'(Freedom) at the June 10 protest (the largest
protest so far - estimated 1 million country wide). Live singing and
dancing is a regular feature of South Korean protest culture. Also
those lyrics in the article are botched, the one line where Manchuria
comes in goes :
From the East Sea where the sun rises to the West sea where it sets
From the hot Southern province to the vast Manchurian plain
How are we poor, how can we waver
The song does sound nationalist (nostalgic) but I think difficult to
interpret it as irridentist in the context of the whole song and its
provenance - which is minjung nationalism from 80s. And I don't
believe people receive it as such. I think it's got more of a
politico-spiritual or religious feel - the songs lyrics begin with:
'This lands' tears of blood that disappeared holding in its hands a
tearing heart... it's definitely not instigating anyone to take back
territory that was once theirs or something like that. And like many
of his other songs, his lyrics tend to be lose/open/poetic (some parts
not fitting exactly with others).
Alice S. Kim
On Jun 12, 2008, at 4:07 AM, Kirk Larsen wrote:
> Dear KS List,
>
> A recent article on the anti-beef protests in the ROK http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/11/asia/seoul.php?page=1)
> includes this tantalizing tidbit:
>
> "People felt their national pride hurt. Protesters, some weeping,
> were singing a popular song about, not American beef, but an ancient
> Korean kingdom that extended into what become Manchuria, now
> northeast China.
> "How can we stop here, when the vast expanse of Manchuria awaits
> us?" the lyrics go."
>
> Does anyone on the list know more about this song, its provenance,
> popularity etc.?
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
> --
> Kirk W. Larsen
> Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History and International
> Affairs
> Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies
> 1957 E Street 503
> The George Washington University
> Washington DC, 20052
> (202) 994-5253
>
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