Hangangsu Taryeong

Unknown (Gyeonggi Oral Tradition)

Region

Seoul–Gyeonggi

Genre

Gyeonggi Folk Song

Usage

Recreational Song

Hangangsu Taryeong is a Gyeonggi folk song about the Han River: its history and scenery, boating on its waters, and the joys and sorrows of the people along its banks. Each verse spans four cycles of the gutgeori rhythm, with the main verse in the first half and the refrain in the second. This record is archive material collected to organize and preserve the representative lyrics and the transmission context of Hangangsu Taryeong.

Commentary & Notes

Hangangsu (漢江水): An old-fashioned name for the Han River. In the Joseon era, the stretch near Seoul was also called Gyeonggang, "the capital's river."

Susangseon (水上船): A boat set out on the water, here a pleasure boat for an outing on the river.

The song comes from the standing-song (ipchang) tradition. Everyone joins in the refrain to the same tune, while the soloist customarily varies the opening of each verse.

Cultural Background

The Han River has long been Seoul's lifeline, where people and goods gathered, and this song carries the pleasures of the river and the lives of those who lived beside it. Its five-note melody moves brightly within a single octave, making it one of the liveliest of the gutgeori-rhythm folk songs.