Why Does Arirang Stay With You After It Ends? | Part 2 of 8
Why does Arirang remain in memory long after the song has ended? This AEP analysis explores how sensation becomes language, language becomes song, and song becomes a shared cultural structure capable of carrying emotion across generations. AEP International Archive Arirang Series — Part 2 of 4 From Participation to Persistence Written by YohanChoi Some songs end when the music stops. Arirang begins there. Abstract This essay reexamines Arirang through the sensory and emotional foundations embedded within the Korean expressions arida and aerida . While many discussions focus on historical origins, place-based theories, or linguistic interpretations, such approaches often struggle to explain why Arirang has survived across generations. This article proposes a different perspective. Rather than treating Arirang as the product of a specific historical event, it examines how sensation becomes language, how language becomes song, and how song becomes a structure capable of carrying shar...