Tumen River of Tears Song So Hee

[soryang]

송소희 - 눈물 젖은 두만강 Song So Hee Tumen River of Tears

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This is a Han style piece, a traditional song, an old favorite. Han is the style of deep haunting sorrow that is one aspect of Korean culture. The white attire is worn after death. The Tumen River forms the northeast border of North Korea with China and Russia.

There were no subs, so I tried to translate:


두만강 푸른 물에 노젓는 뱃사공 흘러간 In the Tumen river's blue water the oarsman's boat floated
away.
그 옛날에 내 님을 싣고 떠나간 그 배는 That bygone day, that boat carried off my love,
어디로 갔소 그리운 내 님이여 Where has my missed lover gone?
그리운 내 님이여 언제나 오려나 My missed love, will you return sometime?.
강물도 달밤이면 목메어 우는데 The river too, if a moonlit night, chokes in tears,
님 잃은 이 사람도 한숨을 지니 Losing my love, this person too gives a sigh
추억에 목메인 애달픈 하소연 A choked heartrending moan of memory .
그리운 내 님이여 그리운 내 님이여 My longed for love, my longed for love
언제나 오려나 임가신 강 언덕에 Always on your way, on the hill by the river that took you
단풍이 물들고 눈물진 두만강에 The Tumen is dyed with fall colors and filled with my tears,
밤새가 울면 떠나간 그 님이 If I cry all night, that departed love
보고 싶구나 그리운 내 님이여 I miss so much, my yearning longed for love
그리운 내 님이여 언제나 오려나 My longed for love, will you return sometime?

(Hangul Source: http://lyrics.jetmute.com/viewlyrics.php?id=558519)

[soryang]

1. This song was intended as a tribute to the sacrifice of families in the independence movement

According to a note In the historical Kdrama, 이몽 I Mong, (Different Dreams) episode 14, the song was about the grief of a widow, Kim Jeung Son, who discovered after searching for years, that her husband, Moon Chang Hak, an independence movement fighter in the Heroic Corps ( 의열단; 義烈團 ), had been executed by the Japanese in 1923 . The note explains the composer, Lee Si Wu, heard her crying all night in a inn near the river and composed the melody to emulate her lament.