Aegukga

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Aegukga is also the name of the national anthem of North Korea. See Aegukka.

Aegukga is the national anthem of South Korea. The title literally means "The Song of Love for the Country," or "The Patriotic Song."

It is believed that the lyrics were written toward 1900s by Yun Chiho, a politician, or by An Chang-ho, a pro-independence leader and educator. Initially, Aegukga was sung to the Scottish folk tune Auld Lang Syne. During the Japanese Colonial Period (1910-1945), the song was banned, but overseas Koreans continued to sing it, expressing their yearnings for national independence. In 1937, Ahn Eak-tae, an internationally noted Korean musician based in Spain, composed the music for Aegukga. His work was officially adopted by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (1919-1945) in Shanghai, China. Aegukga was sung at a ceremony celebrating the founding of the Republic of Korea on 15 August 1948, some three years after liberation from Japanese rule. It was adopted the same year.

1 Lyrics
2 Copyright issues
3 See also
4 External links

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Lyrics

	Korean	Korean with hanja	Revised Romanization	English translation
1	동해물과 백두산이 마르고 닳도록 하느님이 보우하사 우리나라 만세	東海물과 白頭山이 마르고 닳도록 하느님이 保佑하사 우리나라 萬歲	Donghae mulgwa Baekdusani mareugo daltorok Haneunimi bouhasa urinara manse	Until the East Sea's waters and Baekdu Mountain are dry and worn away, Heaven-god protects, our nation eternal!
2	남산위에 저 소나무 철갑을 두른 듯 바람서리 불변함은 우리 기상일세	南山위에 저 소나무 鐵甲을 두른 듯 바람서리 不變함은 우리 氣像일세	Namsan wie jeo sonamu cheolgabeul dureun deut Baram seori bulbyeonhameun uri gisangilse	As that pinetree atop Namsan is wrapped in armour, wind or frost, our spirit is unchangeable.
3	가을 하늘 공활한데 높고 구름 없이 밝은 달은 우리 가슴 일편단심일세	가을 하늘 空豁한데 높고 구름 없이 밝은 달은 우리 가슴 一片丹心일세	Gaeul haneul gonghwalhande nopgo gureum eopsi Balgeun dareun uri gaseum ilpyeondansimilse	Autumn sky, a vast void high and cloudless, the bright moon is our heart, single and true.
4	이 기상과 이 맘으로 충성을 다하여 괴로우나 즐거우나 나라 사랑하세	이 氣像과 이 맘으로 忠誠을 다하여 괴로우나 즐거우나 나라 사랑하세	I gisanggwa i mameuro chungseongeul dahayeo Goerouna jeulgeouna nara saranghase	With this spirit and this mind, give all loyalty, in suffering or in joy, love our country.
Refrain	무궁화 삼천리 화려강산 대한사람 대한으로 길이 보전하세	無窮花三千里華麗江山大韓사람 大韓으로 길이 保全하세	Mugunghwa samcheolli hwaryeogangsan Daehansaram daehaneuro giri bojeonhase	Hibiscus, three thousand li, splendid rivers and mountains, Great Han People, let us long preserve the Great Han.

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Copyright issues

Since the composer Ahn Eak-tae died in 1965, the copyright for the music will not expire at least until 2015. Two Korean professional soccer teams were sued by a copyrightholders' group for public playing of this song in December 2003. The composer's widow Lolita Ahn and her family then relinquished all rights to Aegukga to the Korean government on 16 March 2005. The lyrics, written in the 19th century, are in the public domain.

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