A Korean book written by a local scholar of "Arirang" on the history and development of the traditional Korean folk song has been translated and published in English, the author said Tuesday.
"The Culture of Arirang," depicting how Arirang was generated and developed into a common folk song of Koreans in the two Koreas and abroad, was published last month by Jimoondang, a South Korean publishing house.
"UNESCO is to discuss whether to register Arirang as an intangible cultural heritage in December. This book was published to cope with the registration," Kim Yeon-gap, the executive director of the private Korean Arirang Association and the author of the book, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
"I tried to contain a full knowledge about Arirang in the book in the mind of writing a school textbook, so I can properly answer questions from foreigners about it when it is on the UNESCO list," said the author who has been studying Arirang for more than 30 years.
In the book, Kim claimed that Arirang should be seen as a culture of Koreans, rather than a folk song.
"Arirang is not merely a song but an independent genre and a culture that holds the three spirits of resistance, unity and co-existence, since it has many different versions originated from one, and is both traditional and global," he said.
Translated by Ki Mee-yang and Lee Jung-ha, the English edition is now available on the country's online bookstores.
Kim said he plans to distribute the book to overseas readers through the Korea Foundation affiliated with Seoul's foreign ministry. (Yonhap)