Korean Folksong 3: choo-eun baram

1) 

Original: 

날 부르는 바람이 왜 이렇게 차가운 걸까?

차가운데 나에게 희망을 주는 것이다

날 부르는 바람이 날 어디로 인도하는 걸까?

이 차가움을 견디고 따라 갈 것이다

Romanization/Transliteration: 

Nal boo-reuh-neun ba-ram-ee wae ee-ruh-kae cha-ga-oon-gul-kka?

cha-ga-oon-dae na-ae-gae hee-mang-eul joo-neun-guh-shee-dah.

nal boo-reun-neun ba-ram-ee nal uh-di-loh indoh-ha-neun gul-kka?

ee cha-ga-oom-eul gyun-di-go dda-rah gal-guh-shee-dah.

Full Translation: 

Oh wind who’s calling me, why are you so cold? 

Despite the cold, you also give me hope.

Oh wind who’s calling me, where are you leading me?

I will endure the chill of your breeze, and follow you. 

2) My Korean grandmother introduced this folk song, called “cold wind,” to me because it was a song that she learned during middle school, but came to have great meaning to her after she immigrated to America in her late 20s. She said her decision to come to America made her scared, but she was willing to endure this fear for the possibility of a future as a nurse in the US. 

3) This performance was actually done by my grandmother and mother together. My grandmother sang the lyrics, and my mother, being a pianist, improvised an accompaniment along with the melody. It was a set of four Korean folk songs that they performed in front of me and the rest of our family. 

4) I connect this folk song to the Korean concept of ‘Han.’ Han is an emotion that connotes an accumulation of Koreans’ suffering over time. It is a very dynamic emotion that has a fierce color that could almost signal the energy and birth of new possibilities. I think the song my grandma sang connects to this concept because although it invokes the necessity of suffering along a certain road, it also signals that there should be hope that despite this suffering a worthwhile outcome could arise. 

Korean Folksong 4: Fate’s Appearance

1) 

Original: 

빛나는 그대를 보면 볼수록 태양이 어두워진다

청국의 가장 아름다운 천사들도 평범해 보여지게 하는 그대가 

어디에서 온 걸까? 

다른 세계 – 가능

다른 세월 – 가능

이 세계 – 확실히 불가능

우리의 출신이 세상 차이니 낯선데 뭔가 인연인 듯이 익숙하다

Romanization / Transliteration: 

Bit-na-neun geu-dae-reul bo-myun bol-soo-rok tae-yang-ee eoh-doo-wuh-jin-da

chung-kook-eh ga-jang ah-reum-da-oon chun-sah-deul-do pyung-bum-hae bo-yuh-ji-gae ha-neun geu-dae ga eoh-di-ae-suh on-gul-kka?

da-reun seh-gye – ga-neung

da-reun seh-woul – ga-neung

Ee-seh-gye – hawk-shil-hee bool-ga-neung

Oo-ree-eh chool-sheen-ee sae-sang cha-i-ni nat-sun-dae mwon-ga in-yun-in deu-si eek-sook-ha-da

Full Translation: 

The more I see you shine, the darker the sun gets. 

Where did you, who can make even heaven’s most beautiful angels appear ordinary, come from? 

A different world is possible

A different time is possible

But you being from the same world is without a doubt impossible

Since our origins are so different, you seem strange, but something, as if it’s fate, is familiar

2) My Korean grandmother introduced this folk song, called “인연의 나타남” (fate’s appearance) to me because it was a song that she learned during highschool, and it came to have great meaning for her when she met my grandfather. She said the song is about a very idealistic love, and she told me that she hopes people don’t yet give up on the idea that such a love could possibly exist. 

3) This performance was actually done by my grandmother and mother together. My grandmother sang the lyrics, and my mother, being a pianist, improvised an accompaniment along with the melody. It was a set of four Korean folk songs that they performed in front of me and the rest of our family. 

4) This song is centered around the idea of two lovers who are of completely different backgrounds. The subject of the folk song is a person who appears almost perfect, so perfect that assuming a relationship with that person seems near impossible. However, the concept of fate, Inyun, in Korean plays a big role in the song’s theme. It suggests that no matter how infeasible this relationship seems, if fate wills its manifestation then it will come to be. This song also leads me to compare Inyun with the concept of Akyun, which depicts a relationship that is also subject to fate, but is instead bound to be ill-fated. Comparing these two concepts, it becomes clear that Korean tradition attributes both miracles and tragedies to the idea of fate. 

Irish Joke 1 – Light as a Feather

1) “Which Irish rock is lighter than a feather?”

“A Shamrock!” 

2) Although I’m half Korean, I’m also half Irish. I heard this riddle from my Irish grandmother. She told me this riddle as the first in a series of riddles saying that she wanted to start off giving me the “easiest one” she could think of. She said she wanted to tell me this specific riddle because it was an opportunity for her, a devout Christian, to teach me something about the importance of the “shamrock,” which to her was not merely a shrub, but could be used as a visual symbol to represent the Holy Trinity. 

3) Since I couldn’t visit my grandmother personally, I had zoom called her and asked for her four favorite riddles. 

4) Allegedly, the Shamrock was first used as a representation of the Holy Trinity according to lore about St. Patrick. The comparison “light as a feather” has ties to symbolic associations with freshness, holiness, renewal – shamrock’s etymology means “young clover,” so the connection with lightness, youth, and vitality become even more apparent. 

Irish Joke 2 – Eyes

1)  

“What has eyes, but it can’t see?” 

“A potato!” 

2) My Irish grandmother shared this with me with hopes to express how much of a staple potatoes are in Irish cuisine. She said that even though this riddle may seem overly simplistic, the potato has sustained the Irish population for generations. She even mentioned to me that in 1845 the Irish Potato Famine literally wiped out over 1 million people because of a blight. 

3) This riddle was shared with me by my grandmother, amongst a set of 3 other riddles, over a zoom call that I had with her. 

4) I’ve heard other similar riddles such as “a needle” to answer the above riddle, but it’s my first time hearing this rendition. The fact that an oral tradition even exists in which a potato is personified through the riddle, suggests that the crop was a major form of sustenance for the Irish people. At the time of the famine, around 50% of Ireland’s population was dependent on potatoes for their major source of food. 

Irish Joke 3 – clover

1) “How don’t you iron a four-leaf clover?” 

“Because you shouldn’t press your luck!” 

2) My Irish grandmother saved this riddle for the end of our conversation because she said that she herself collected 4 leaf clovers during childhood and that she still believes them to be truly lucky. Although she admits to herself being slightly superstitious, she suggests that I undertake some superstitious beliefs to protect myself. 

3) This riddle was shared with me by my grandmother, amongst a set of 3 other riddles, over a zoom call that I had with her. 

4) The riddle suggests that “luck” is a real and precious force that influences our lives. The four leaf clover has connections to a rich oral tradition. It has been associated with protection from evil Celtic fairies, and other legends state that Eve removed a four-leaf clover before leaving the Garden of Eden. Thus, for Irish people, four-leaf clover folklore is derived from a sense of sacredness, regarding luck – a symbol of good within a dangerous world.