Arirang
a
LEGEND OF KOREA
Once upon a time, a beautiful girl who was called Aerange lived with her parents in a small town, Miryang, in Korea. Her father who was a country magistrate loved his daughter very much because she had a beautiful heart. One of her father's servants had fallen in love with her, and he wanted to get married to her.
He could not have an opportunity to meet her because he was in a very low position. Therefore, he paid the old nurse who had been taking care of her and asked the old nurse to take her to the old pavilion at night. After the old nurse guided her to the quite place, she then disappeared privately.
When Aerange lost her way, all of a sudden the servant came out of the bamboo grove. He tried to rape the girl to possess her, but she resisted him to the end to keep her virtue and honor. When the servant realized that she would not follow him, at last he killed her with his dagger.
The next morning, her father realized that his daughter had disappeared, so he looked for her, but he could not find her. After a few days, he left Miryang and went to Hanyang. After he left Miryang, the new magistrates were found dead in their rooms just after their new arrival. Wild rumors that the ghost of Aerange had killed the magistrates spread among people. No official wanted that position.
One day, a bold official was requested to solve the mystery. While he stayed in his room at night, suddenly a gust wind blew and a ghost came into the room. He trembled with fear, however, he asked her, "What do you want?" and then she approached him with three red flags in her hand to attract his attention. He tried to find the hidden meaning of the red color, the flag, and the number three.
The next morning, he asked his servant, " Do you know if there is a person named Hong (red) Ki (flag) sam (three)?" Hongkisam was a member of his staff, and finally he confessed his crime. The new official searched for her dead body and made a good tomb for her.
The people of the Miryang built a stone tablet to commemorate and remember Aerange's virtue and valorous death. Later on people made a song of her story called Arirang which is taken from her name, Aerange.
This song became a very popular song and helped people remember her purity and beautiful courage.
I found this charming story on Suyeon Jung's home page. She has written the story also in Korean . I will soon add the English words to the song. I have long loved the melody and the legend. lw
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