Arirang, Cultural Context, and the Stories Art Carries Across Time

By Carole Showell, DHSc (in progress), LCSW—Understanding the history of Arirang, the Korean students at Howard University, and how cross-cultural meaning-making shapes the way art is interpreted today.

Disclaimer: This was written by a human who had to use em dashes for the sake of grammar. It was slightly polished for readability using ChatGPT because your human author tends to be extremely wordy. All referenced sources were manually researched, reviewed, and summarized by said human. My eye strain and sore neck can confirm the veracity of this statement. Pre-save BTS' new album Arirang on Apple Music and Spotify.

Art plays an important role in cultural expression and cross-cultural communication. Through art, we can better understand not only how individuals make meaning of their existence, but also how broader cultural systems of meaning are conveyed. Art provides a snapshot of the past and present and often communicates hopes or fears about the future.

However, art does not occur in a vacuum.

Understanding the cultural and historical context in which art was created is essential to understanding the work itself and how it is received by others. Without that context, people may interpret the same work of art very differently.

The diversity of systems of individual and cultural meaning-making offers an opportunity to explore how our prior learning—both emotional and cognitive—shapes the way a creator expresses their art and how that art is interpreted by its audience.

Last month, I did a deep dive into the early history of Korean folk music in the United States. In particular, a song called Arirang has been the topic of much conversation. Korean pop group BTS recently announced an album using this title, which has led many fans and casual listeners to explore the significance of Arirang and why it might have been chosen.

The history of this song offers a fascinating example of how art travels across cultures and time—and how meaning can shift depending on the context in which it is understood.

Over a century before BTS brought Korean music to stadiums around the world, seven Korean students sang folk songs in a home in Washington, D.C. One of those songs was Arirang—a melody that has carried centuries of Korean history, longing, and resilience.¹

A few days ago, a short film connected that moment to the present day, sparking conversation—and in some cases confusion—about the history behind the song. The reactions offer an interesting reminder: art may travel easily across cultures, but meaning does not always travel with it.

The Many Meanings of Arirang

There is no single version of Arirang.

Rather, there are many different versions, each with different melodies and lyrics and intended for different purposes and audiences. Some versions of Arirang express longing or romantic love. Others communicate grief, nostalgia, or separation.² 

During periods of political difficulty in Korea, the lyrics of Arirang were sometimes adapted to serve as rallying cries of resilience, expressions of sorrow, or quiet acts of defiance against oppression.

Because of this history, Arirang holds a unique place within Korean cultural memory. It functions both as a folk song and as a symbolic expression of shared cultural identity.³

The first known recording of Korean voices included a performance of Arirang. In that case, the intent was not political at all. Instead, the recording emerged from a moment of cultural curiosity and cross-cultural exchange.

Early History: Korean Students, Cultural Exchange, and the First Recordings of Arirang

In 1896, a Korean benefactor sought assistance for seven Korean students who had become stranded in Canada after running out of funds. After making numerous inquiries to various colleges about possible support, a missionary helped connect the benefactor with Howard University in Washington, D.C.⁴

Howard University agreed to enroll the students and provide housing and food.⁵ 

The presence of Korean students in North America during this period was not entirely unusual. In the late nineteenth century, a small number of Korean students began traveling abroad—particularly to the United States, Canada, and Japan—as part of early modernization efforts within Korea. Exposure to Western education, technology, and political systems was viewed by some reformers as essential to strengthening the country during a period of significant geopolitical pressure.⁶ 

An article in The Evening Star quoted Howard’s president at the time, Dr. Jeremiah Rankin, as stating that the university was not only for Black American students, but open to everyone. Howard University’s willingness to enroll the Korean students was consistent with the institution’s founding mission.⁷ 

Established in 1867 to expand educational opportunities for newly emancipated Black Americans, Howard quickly developed a broader commitment to educating students who were excluded from other institutions. By the late nineteenth century, the university enrolled students from a wide range of racial, national, and religious backgrounds. Within that context, welcoming Korean students to campus reflected Howard’s broader ethos of educational access and international engagement.⁸

On the night of the students’ arrival, a social gathering was held at the home of Professor Mary Fletcher, where the Korean students were warmly received by members of the community.

During the gathering, guests invited the students to engage in conversation and share something about themselves. It quickly became clear that the students did not speak English. However, they were able to communicate through song.⁹

The students performed several Korean songs, and their performances were reportedly a highlight of the evening. Contemporary newspaper reports suggest that the event was well received and that the students became known in the community for their singing abilities. While not much is documented about their day-to-day experiences at Howard, available accounts suggest they adapted well and were welcomed both on campus and in the broader Washington community.

In 1897, Mary Fletcher began experimenting with a gramophone in her home. The Korean students agreed to participate in several experimental recordings, singing Korean songs including lullabies and Arirang.¹⁰

Those recordings are now preserved in the Library of Congress and represent one of the earliest known recordings of Korean voices.¹¹ The recordings were made using Berliner gramophone technology, which was still experimental at the time. Because relatively few recordings from Korea itself existed during that period, the discs created in Washington, D.C. are considered among the earliest surviving recordings of Korean voices anywhere in the world. 

It is worth remembering that many early gramophone recordings were not originally created with the intention of preserving cultural history. Recording technology was still experimental, and demonstrations often involved whoever happened to be present in the room. Guests, friends, or visitors might be invited to sing or speak into the recording horn simply to test the device. In this case, the Korean students were participating in what was essentially a demonstration of a new technology. What began as a casual technological experiment ultimately became a remarkable piece of cultural history.

For Korean students studying abroad during this period, performing familiar folk songs may also have served another purpose. Scholars of Korean cultural history note that Arirang was already widely recognized across the Korean peninsula and often functioned as a shared cultural reference point among Koreans. When students or travelers encountered foreign audiences, performing songs like Arirang allowed them to share something recognizable from their homeland while also expressing a sense of cultural identity in unfamiliar surroundings. 

In the decades that followed, Arirang would take on even deeper meaning. During the early twentieth century, as Korea came under Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945), the song increasingly became associated with expressions of sorrow, resilience, and national identity. Variations of Arirang were sung by workers, travelers, and independence activists, sometimes carrying subtle messages of resistance or longing for freedom.¹²

At the time, these moments of cultural exchange likely felt small and informal—students sharing songs, guests listening with curiosity, and new technology capturing the sounds of voices far from home. Yet over time, these small encounters became part of a much larger story about how culture travels, evolves, and takes on new meaning in different historical contexts.

More than a century later, Arirang continues to carry those layered meanings. That long cultural journey helps explain why the song still resonates today—and why its symbolism continues to appear in modern artistic works.

Modern-Day Meaning-Making

BTS has played a significant role in expanding the global reach of Korean music and culture. In the United States, they have served as trailblazers, helping create pathways that allow other Korean artists to find success in the American music market.

As part of a recent album promotion, their management company released a short film referencing the history of Arirang and the seven Korean students whose voices were recorded in the late 1800s.

The film presents a condensed and slightly fictionalized narrative of these historical events. BTS members are depicted as the seven Korean students, and several historical moments are visually fused together into a streamlined narrative.

This artistic decision works well as cultural storytelling. The film emphasizes themes of cultural exchange and historical continuity while connecting past and present through symbolic imagery.

However, this narrative compression may also have contributed to some misunderstandings among viewers.

Some audiences interpreted the film through a different system of cultural meaning-making, which led to questions about representation and historical context.

When Meaning-Making Systems Collide

Situations like this are not uncommon in cross-cultural communication.

The film appears to have been intended as a tribute to cultural exchange and historical connection. Yet some viewers, particularly Black American viewers familiar with the historical and cultural significance of Howard University as a historically Black American college and university (HBCU), experienced the imagery differently. From that perspective, the film did not fully capture or represent the importance of Black American institutional history or the broader context of Howard University.

These reactions highlight something important: when cultural context is incomplete or unfamiliar, people rely on their own cultural frameworks to interpret what they are seeing.

Adding Historical and Cultural Context

It appears that the short film’s creative team may not have fully appreciated the role of Howard University—symbolized by the depiction of Speaker’s Hall—as an important part of many Black Americans’ system of meaning-making. For many, HBCUs, including Howard, are deeply connected to experiences of Black American community, resilience, and cultural identity. Depicting Speaker’s Hall without strongly representing the presence of Black Americans can create the perception of a partial erasure of that identity.

The film visually depicts a diverse crowd gathered in front of Howard’s Speaker’s Hall while the students perform. Historical accounts suggest that the Korean students were well received both on campus and within the wider Washington, D.C. community. However, the crowd scene includes only a small number of visibly Black American individuals, which sparked criticism from some viewers who felt the depiction did not fully reflect the central role of Black American community and culture at Howard University.

Conversely, in online discussions, some people suggested that Arirang would not have existed without the involvement of Black American students and staff at Howard University. It is unclear whether these comments were referring to the album concept or to the song itself. Either way, this claim is not historically accurate. Arirang long predates the recordings made in Washington, D.C., and was already widely known throughout Korea. Suggesting otherwise similarly creates a partial erasure of Korean cultural identity.

The seven Korean students at Howard were not the only Korean students studying in the region during that period. Korean students were also enrolled at other colleges in the broader DMV area, and some were similarly known for sharing Korean songs and performances with American audiences.¹³

Neither interpretation is necessarily wrong. Instead, the difference arises because the systems of meaning-making being used to interpret the film are not the same.

Providing additional context can help reduce that gap in interpretation.

Why Cultural Context Matters

Understanding cultural context requires effort, but it matters.

Without that context, artistic expression—especially when it moves across cultures—can easily be misunderstood or interpreted in ways that diverge from the creator’s intentions. When historical and cultural context is better understood, it becomes easier to see the meaning the creator was trying to communicate and understand why an audience may not perceive that meaning as intended.

This principle extends beyond art.

In the therapeutic space, understanding a client’s cultural context is essential to understanding how they make meaning of their experiences. Two people may describe similar events yet interpret them through very different emotional and cultural frameworks.

Just as with art, context helps us understand not only what someone is expressing, but why that expression holds meaning.

Taking the time to understand those systems of meaning-making—whether in art, culture, or therapy—can reduce misunderstanding and deepen connection.

In a quiet moment of cultural exchange, seven Korean students singing folk songs in a Washington, D.C. living room became part of a story that now stretches all the way to global stages—and offers an opportunity to better understand and appreciate how different cultures make meaning of their experiences.

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Footnotes

1. Library of Congress, “Early Recordings of Korean Songs in Washington, D.C.,” lecture recording, Library of Congress Digital Collections, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688047/.

2. Keith Howard, Creating Korean Music: Tradition, Innovation and the Discourse of Identity (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006); UNESCO, “Arirang, Lyric Folk Song in the Republic of Korea,” Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/arirang-lyric-folk-song-in-the-republic-of-korea-00445.

3. Keith Howard, Creating Korean Music: Tradition, Innovation and the Discourse of Identity (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006).

4. “Korean Students at Howard University,” The Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 11, 1896, Library of Congress, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024441/1896-05-11/ed-1/.

5. Early cross-cultural engagement in the United States—including missionary activity and organized interaction between people of different cultures—contributed to practices that later informed modern social work and community-based support systems.

6. District of Columbia Office of Planning, Korean Americans in Washington, DC: Historic Context Statement (Washington, DC: DC Office of Planning), 23, https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Korean%20Context%20COMPLETE.pdf.

7. “Korean Students at Howard University,” The Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 11, 1896, Library of Congress, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024441/1896-05-11/ed-1/.

8. Howard University, “History,” accessed March 16, 2026, https://howard.edu/about/history

9.“Korean Students at Howard University,” The Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 11, 1896, Library of Congress, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024441/1896-05-11/ed-1/.

10. “Korean Songs Sung by Students,” The Evening Star (Washington, DC), October 7, 1896, Library of Congress, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024441/1896-10-07/ed-1/.

11. Library of Congress, “The Alice Fletcher Korean Cylinder Recordings: A Small Part of D.C. History,” Folklife Today (Library of Congress Blogs), April 20, 2023, https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2023/04/the-alice-fletcher-korean-cylinder-recordings-a-small-part-of-d-c-history/; Gugak CD Archive, “Arirang and Early Korean Recordings,” http://www.gugakcd.kr/ckjcd10.htm.

12. Howard, Creating Korean Music.

13. District of Columbia Office of Planning, Korean Americans in Washington, D.C.

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Sources and Further Reading

District of Columbia Office of Planning.Korean Americans in Washington, D.C.: Historic Context Statement. Washington, DC: DC Office of Planning.https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Korean%20Context%20COMPLETE.pdf

Gugak CD Archive.“Arirang and Early Korean Recordings.”http://www.gugakcd.kr/ckjcd10.htm

Howard, Keith.Creating Korean Music: Tradition, Innovation and the Discourse of Identity. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006.

Howard University.“History.” Accessed March 16, 2026.https://howard.edu/about/history

Library of Congress.“Early Recordings of Korean Songs in Washington, D.C.” Lecture recording.https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688047/

Library of Congress.“The Alice Fletcher Korean Cylinder Recordings: A Small Part of D.C. History.” Folklife Today, April 20, 2023.https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2023/04/the-alice-fletcher-korean-cylinder-recordings-a-small-part-of-d-c-history/

“Korean Songs Sung by Students.”The Evening Star (Washington, DC), October 7, 1896. Library of Congress Chronicling America.https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024441/1896-10-07/ed-1/

“Korean Students at Howard University.”The Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 11, 1896. Library of Congress Chronicling America.https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024441/1896-05-11/ed-1/

UNESCO.“Arirang, Lyric Folk Song in the Republic of Korea.” Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/arirang-lyric-folk-song-in-the-republic-of-korea-00445