Korean Empire Aegukga
Encyclopedia
The Anthem of the Greater Korean Empire (or Korean Empire Aegukga; in modern Korean orthography
: ; hanja
: ) was the first national anthem
of Korea
. It was used in the early 20th century Korean Empire
.
The anthem was first commissioned by Emperor Gojong in 1901
and presented to the Korean court on 1 July 1902, by German composer Franz Eckert, who happened to be the director of the Korean Empire's military band
at the time. It was published in Germany
in five different languages (Korean
, German
, English
, Chinese
, and French
) and performed for the first time on 9 September 1902, during Emperor Gojong's birthday ceremony.
The soon demise of the Korean Empire's independence, however, meant that the anthem did not become widely available. With the signing of the Eulsa Treaty
in 1905, the Korean Empire was well on its way towards annexation by the Empire of Japan
.
).
Lee Dong-guk of the Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum
. The surviving specimen was a copy kept by the Korean-American Club of Honolulu-Wahiawa and published in 1910 under the title Korean old national hymn in English and in Korean.
The discovery came as a surprise even in South Korea
, where the existence of the original lyrics was unknown until then. The finding was later reported in the mass media and has since then been performed by various K-pop artists. Hawaii has been a source for various pre-Japanese annexation heritage investigations by South Korea since many Korean Empire citizens emigrated to Hawaii
before the Japanese annexation. One recent incident involved a Korean Empire émigré descendant donating a very rare 100-plus-year-old original passport issued by the Korean Empire
to South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun
during his visit to Hawaii
.
The original lyrics are:
In the romanisation, ‹:› indicates length marks for singing that appear in the source; ˉ marks vowels that would have been pronounced as long vowels when not singing. While the copy appearing in the source used for this article (http://www.scjnet.co.kr/INT/chan/fla/nationalsong.wmv) appears markedly newer than the 1900s and calls the anthem “Joseon national anthem” instead of “Patriotic song of the Korean Empire” as one would expect from a 1900s copy, it clearly shows pre-1933 orthography (reproduced in this article) that was not used after the 1940s.
.
Hangul orthography
Hangeul matchumbeop, often romanized to Hangul Matchumbeop, could be translated to "Korean orthography ". It often appears as the title of spelling dictionaries or other publications of orthographic guidelines.-External links:...
: ; hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
: ) was the first national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. It was used in the early 20th century Korean Empire
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
.
The anthem was first commissioned by Emperor Gojong in 1901
1901 in music
-Events:*April 18 - Contralto Mariska Horvath marries politician J. Frank Aldrich.*October 27 – First complete performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2*November 25 – Premiėre of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No...
and presented to the Korean court on 1 July 1902, by German composer Franz Eckert, who happened to be the director of the Korean Empire's military band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
at the time. It was published in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in five different languages (Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) and performed for the first time on 9 September 1902, during Emperor Gojong's birthday ceremony.
The soon demise of the Korean Empire's independence, however, meant that the anthem did not become widely available. With the signing of the Eulsa Treaty
Eulsa Treaty
The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, also known as the Eulsa Treaty or Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty, was made between the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1905. Negotiations were concluded on November 17, 1905....
in 1905, the Korean Empire was well on its way towards annexation by the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
.
Alteration of the Lyrics
Although a so-called 'official' version of the Korean Empire's national anthem was made available by the occupying Japanese forces, the original lyrics to the anthem were not rediscovered until after the end of the period of Japanese rule. (See also: Korea under Japanese ruleKorea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
).
Lyrics (Japanese modified version)
| Original Korean | Romanisation (Yale) | English | Modern Korean translation |
|---|---|---|---|
Sāngtyey nun wuli hwangtyey lul twouso Syēngswu mwukang hoso Hōy wok.tywu lul san kaschi psousiko Wikwen i hwan.yeng ey stulchiso Wo chenman syēy ey pwok.nwok i ilqsin khey hoswosye Sāngtyey nun wuli hwangtyey lul twouswosye |
God help the emperor May he live forever Bestow treasures like mountain-piles May his influence and power reach across the world Fifty million times may his blessings be renewed every day God help the emperor |
Lyrics (Original version)
The original lyrics were re-discovered on 13 August 2004, by curatorCurator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
Lee Dong-guk of the Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum
Seoul Arts Center
The Seoul Arts Center, literally the Hall of Arts, is a cultural center in Seocho-gu, the southern area of Seoul, South Korea.Measuring in 12,0350 m², it consists of many different halls and centers for many diverse art forms. It began construction in 1984, and opened all its doors in 1993...
. The surviving specimen was a copy kept by the Korean-American Club of Honolulu-Wahiawa and published in 1910 under the title Korean old national hymn in English and in Korean.
The discovery came as a surprise even in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, where the existence of the original lyrics was unknown until then. The finding was later reported in the mass media and has since then been performed by various K-pop artists. Hawaii has been a source for various pre-Japanese annexation heritage investigations by South Korea since many Korean Empire citizens emigrated to Hawaii
Korean immigration to Hawaii
Koreans in Hawaii came in two distinct waves have occurred in the last century. The first cohort arrived in Hawaii between 1903 and 1924; the second wave began in 1965. On January 13, 2003, President George W...
before the Japanese annexation. One recent incident involved a Korean Empire émigré descendant donating a very rare 100-plus-year-old original passport issued by the Korean Empire
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
to South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun GOM GCB was the 16th President of South Korea .Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his...
during his visit to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
The original lyrics are:
| Original Korean with hanja Hanja Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation... added | Romanisation (Yale) | English | Modern Korean translation |
|---|---|---|---|
syā:ngtyeynun wuli na:la lul twou:swosye yēngwen mwukwung thwo:lwok nala thayphyeng hokwo inmin un an.lak hoya wikwen i syēys(y?)ang ey stelchi:ye twok.lip ca.ywu pwūkang ul ilq sin khyey hopswosye syā:ngtyeynun wuli na:la lul twou:swo:sye |
God help our nation May our country be peaceful forever May its people live comfortably May our influence and power reach across the world May independence, freedom and prosperity be renewed every day God help our nation |
In the romanisation, ‹:› indicates length marks for singing that appear in the source; ˉ marks vowels that would have been pronounced as long vowels when not singing. While the copy appearing in the source used for this article (http://www.scjnet.co.kr/INT/chan/fla/nationalsong.wmv) appears markedly newer than the 1900s and calls the anthem “Joseon national anthem” instead of “Patriotic song of the Korean Empire” as one would expect from a 1900s copy, it clearly shows pre-1933 orthography (reproduced in this article) that was not used after the 1940s.
Notable Differences
The Japanese-Protectorate era version was modified to mirror the Japanese anthem Kimigayo ("May your reign last forever"), which is a prayer for the longevity of the Emperor himself. The original version, however, has the word “country; nation” ( nara) instead of “emperor” (/ hwangje) and incorporates a prayer for independence and freedom – ideas which might have conflicted with Japanese ambitions at the time to annex the Korean PeninsulaKorean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
.