눈물 젖은 두만강 Tumen River of Tears

This is a Han style piece, a traditional song, an old favorite. Han is the style of deep haunting sorrow that is one aspect of Korean culture. The Tumen River forms the northeast border of North Korea with China and Russia.

There were no subs, so I tried to translate:


두만강 푸른 물에 노젓는 뱃사공 흘러간
In the Tumen river's blue water the oarsman's boat floated
away.
그 옛날에 내 님을 싣고 떠나간 그 배는
That bygone day, that boat carried off my love,
어디로 갔소 그리운 내 님이여
Where has my missed lover gone?
그리운 내 님이여 언제나 오려나
My missed love, will you return sometime?.
강물도 달밤이면 목메어 우는데
The river too, if a moonlit night, chokes in tears,
님 잃은 이 사람도 한숨을 지니
Losing my love, this person too gives a sigh
추억에 목메인 애달픈 하소연
A choked heartrending moan of memory .
그리운 내 님이여 그리운 내 님이여
My longed for love, my longed for love
언제나 오려나 임가신 강 언덕에
Always on your way, on the hill by the river that took you
단풍이 물들고 눈물진 두만강에
The Tumen is dyed with fall colors and filled with my tears,
밤새가 울면 떠나간 그 님이
If I cry all night, that departed love
보고 싶구나 그리운 내 님이여
I miss so much, my yearning longed for love
그리운 내 님이여 언제나 오려나
My longed for love, will you return sometime?

(Hangul Source: http://lyrics.jetmute.com/viewlyrics.php?id=558519)

Below is the URL for Song So Hee's performance of Tumen River of Tears. White attire is worn after death. According to a note in the historical Kdrama, 이몽 I Mong, (Different Dreams) episode 14, the song was about the grief of a widow, Kim Jeung Son, who discovered after searching for years, that her husband, Moon Chang Hak, an independence movement fighter in the Heroic Corps ( 의열단; 義烈團 ), had been executed by the Japanese in 1923. The note explains the composer, Lee Si Wu, heard her crying all night in a inn near the river and composed the melody to emulate her lament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eliY0dFAEY.

The song is a tribute to the Korean Independence Movement and the sacrifices made by Korean families during the Japanese occupation,* especially the separation of loved ones. A review of the Song So Hee performance by The Herald noted the original (1939) performer Kim Jung Gu, 김정구. In more recent times, the song is also performed in connection with events related to separated families from the Korean conflict. The popular rendition of the song title is Tearful Tumen River. My longed for love, perhaps better translated my longed for beloved, is understood to mean my beloved Korea, in occupation lexicon.

다섯번째로 무대에 오른 송소희는 고 김정구의 ‘눈물 젖은 두만강’을 선곡했다. 송소희는 “일제강점기 삶의 애환을 담아 부르던 노래라고 들었다. 곡이 가진 강점인 애환을 목소리로만 표현하고 싶다”는 각오를 드러냈다.*

*Herald.com online News downloaded Jan. 4, 2019. ‘국악소녀’ 송소희, ‘불후의 명곡’서 ‘눈물 젖은 두만강’ 열창, a review of the KBS performance on Aug. 25, 2018.