The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, in conjunction with the Korea Copyright Commission, released a new version of Korean folksong Arirang on Monday to use as a cheering song for Team Korea while it competes at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

The song is a rearranged version of Arirang which originated from Gyeonggi Province. Each region of Korea has slightly different tunes and lyrics of Arirang.

Titled "2021 Arirang," it is sung by Yoon Do-hyun, who is known for singing the cheer song “Oh Fighting Korea” for the 2002 World Cup. YG Entertainment and other academic talents also participated in producing the song.

The copyright of the song has been listed as Korea so that any citizen can use it freely. It can be streamed and downloaded from major music outlets.


BY LEE SUN-MIN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]