Aegukka

Tonghae mul kwa Paektusan i
marugo talt'orok,
Hanunim i pou hasa uri nara manse.

Mugunghwa samch'olli hwaryo kangsan,
Taehan saram Taehan uro kiri pojon hase.

Until the Eastern seas are dry and
Mount Paektusan worn away,
God protect our dear homeland!
Our Korea manse!

Rose of Sharon, beautiful mountain
and river land

Guarded by her people, may Korea
ever stand!

Aegukka means "The Song of Love of Country" and is the title of Korea's unofficial national anthem. The original words were in circulation around 1907 and were sung to the tune of the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne."

An Ik-t'ae, a Korean composer active in the overseas nationalist movement, composed new music for the song in 1935. The Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai adopted An's version, and after Korea was liberated in 1945, its people learned to sing the anthem to the new melody.