The Most Famous Korean Song
아리랑 아리랑 아라리요
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.
The classic folk song Arirang ~
아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요…
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.
나를 버리고 가시는 님은
십리도 못가서 발병난다.
Arirang, Arirang, A-ra-ri-yo ~
Arirang gogae-ro neomeoganda.
Na-reul beorigo gasineun nimeun
Simni-do motgaseo balbyeong-nanda.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo…
Crossing over Arirang Pass.
Dear who left me here
Will not walk even ten li before his feet start to hurt.
The word li in “ten li” refers to a unit of distance that’s about 500 meters or 550 yards. You can find it in an English dictionary now, having been entered via Chinese.
The singer is metaphorically lamenting the conditional love of a person. If the person singing is a woman, then she is referring to a man. Arirang is the name of a mountain pass. Arariyo doesn’t mean anything — they’re just syllables to make the song beautiful.The Korean word arirang connotes something beautiful.