Iyahong Taryeong
Unknown (Jeju Oral Tradition)
Region
Jeju Island
Genre
Usage
Jeju Folk Song
Recreational Song
Iyahong Taryeong is, along with Odolttogi, one of the most widely sung folk songs of Jeju Island, named for the word "iyahong" in its answering refrain. Its lyrics paint Jeju's customs and human warmth, set to a melody that is distinctly local yet strikingly unusual. This record is archive material collected to organize and preserve the representative lyrics and the transmission context of Iyahong Taryeong.
Commentary & Notes
Iyahong: An answering vocable sung for its lift and spirit rather than its meaning; the song takes its name from it.
Jeongtteoreojeotguna: "My affection has gone cold." The singer's disappointment in love is answered with a joking chorus of agreement: "Oh yes, that's so — of course it is!"
Each verse runs exactly twelve cycles of the semachi rhythm, and from the seventh cycle on the words are the same in every verse.
Cultural Background
No one knows exactly when Iyahong Taryeong was first sung or how it relates to mainland folk songs, though it does not appear to be very old. Today it is well known beyond Jeju, and together with Neoyeong Nayeong and Odolttogi it is counted among the island's signature songs.
Lyrics
이야홍 타령에
정떨어졌구나
이야홍 그렇고말고요
이야홍 야홍 그러면 그렇지
Singing the iyahong song,
my heart has gone cold
Iyahong — oh yes, that's so,
iyahong, yahong — of course it is!
