Loading AI tools
1970s South Korean protest song From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Morning Dew" (Korean: 아침 이슬, "Achim Isul") is a South Korean protest song from the 1970s written by Kim Min-ki and sung by Yang Hee-eun.[3][4][5] In 1971, the song was Kim Min-ki's debut in his album Minki Kim ,[6][7] but Yang Hee-eun released it a month earlier. It was not intended to be a protest song, and belonged to the geonjeongayo genre.[3][6] It has also been described as belonging to the genres of Korean ballad[2] and T'ong guitar.[8] The song was well received by both music critics and the public, youths in particular.[9] Initially it won a government award (건전가요상, the Wholesome Song Award), and was considered a pro-government propaganda or "healthy" song, and played on the Korean radio under a cultural program supported by the government.[4][6][10][7]
"Morning Dew" | |
---|---|
Song by Yang Hee-eun | |
from the album Yang Hee Eun Gounnorae Moeum (Korean: 양희은 고운노래 모음; lit. Yang Hee Eun's Collection of Beautiful Songs)[1] | |
Released | September 1, 1971 |
Genre | T'ong guitar, ballad[2] |
Songwriter(s) | Kim Min-ki |
Producer(s) | Kim Min-ki |
Soon afterward, it had inexplicably become a popular protest song among the pro-democracy activists in South Korea, particularly with students.[3][6][9][11][12] Despite the song lacking an overt political message and being described as "full of resolve in spite of the sorrows of life's trials",[13] its wording could be interpreted as "activists yearning for a democratic society",[6] and critical of the 1972 Yushin Constitution.[5] It has also been interpreted as critical of Americanization of Korean society.[2] Also, in the lyrics 'A blazing red sun rising up over the graveyard', the sun is interpreted as Kim Il-sung, and the words rising red can be interpreted to mean communism. [14]
Subsequently, in December 1975, it was banned by government censorship of the Park Chung Hee regime.[4][2][7][5] It was later also banned in North Korea.[11][15] Copies of the album containing it were recalled and destroyed, and it was even prohibited to cover it.[16] Kim Min-ki's school junior, Lee Soo-man, almost received disciplinary action after singing this song on a night stage in 1978.[17] The song, composed in 1971, was one of the favorites of the pro-democracy students until the late 1980s (the other being another song by Kim Min-ki, 상록수, Sangnoksu, 거치른 들판에 푸르른 솔잎처럼, Geochireun deulpane pureureun soripcheoreom, lit. Evergreen). It was often sung during the events of the 1987 June Democratic Struggle.[6] It has also been described as an anthem of the Korean pro-democracy movement[16] and credited with starting the South Korean protest music.[18]
The ban on the song was lifted following pro-democracy protests in 1987. It remained popular for some time afterward.[6] It has been sung at political rallies as late as the 2000s.[19]
The song has also been described as popular with North Koreans living in Japan (people affiliated with Chongryon).[20]
Kim Min-ki brought the German musical Linie 1 to South Korea and adapted it, which became a huge hit. After learning about this, members of the Grips-Theater, a German original performance team, translated his song into German, visited South Korea in 2004, and gave it to him as a gift. The title is Morgentau.[21]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.