Оңтүстік Кореяның Ұлттық Әнұраны

National anthem of South Korea

"italic=no" (애국가; ; "Patriotic Song", Hanja: 愛國歌), often translated as "The Patriotic Song", is the national anthem of the Republic of Korea. It was adopted in 1948, the year the country was founded. Its music was composed in the 1930s and arranged most recently in 2018; its lyrics date back to the 1890s. The lyrics of "Aegukga" were originally set to the music of the Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" before Ahn Eak tai composed a unique melody specifically for it in 1936. Before the founding of South Korea, the song, set to the music of "Auld Lang Syne", was sung, as well when Korea was under Japanese rule by dissidents. The version set to the melody composed by Ahn Eak tai was adopted as the national anthem of the Korean exile government, which existed during Korea's occupation by Japan from the early 1910s to the mid 1940s. "Aegukga" has four verses, but on most occasions only the first one, followed by the chorus, is sung when performed publicly at events such as baseball games and football matches.

Aegukga literally means "patriotic song". The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture defines "Aegukga" as "the song to wake up the mind to love the country". "Aegukga" in itself is differentiated from a national anthem. While a national anthem or gukga is an official symbol of the state, aegukga refers to any song, official or unofficial, that contains patriotic fervor towards its country, such as Hungary's "Szózat" or the U. S. "The Stars and Stripes Forever". However, the nationally designated "Aegukga" plays the role of symbolizing the country. In general shorthand, the term aegukga refers to the national anthem of South Korea. Nevertheless, there are still more than ten other extant "Aegukgas" in South Korea. who also arranged the Japanese national anthem. Some people contend that records documenting Franz Eckert's actions show that it was physically impossible for him to write the anthem. It is guessed that the song sung by the Paejae school was the Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" and that the song sung by the Military Academy is a version of the British song "God Save the Queen.” but this is disputed. Later, Kim Gu during the Korean government in exile era, said to his comrades: "In the March 1st Movement, we had the Taegeukgi and the Aegukga. Why should who wrote it be an issue?" He wrote: "The lyrics and the anthem's spirit are more important than the nature of the lyricist." Other theories name the lyricist as An Chang ho, Choi Byung hun, Kim In sik, Min Yeong hwan, or some combination of the aforementioned writers. A committee was established in 1955 by the government to determine authorship of the lyrics, on the request of the United States, but it concluded that there was not enough evidence to favor anyone. Initially, "Aegukga" was sung to the tune of the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne,” which was introduced to Korea by western missionaries. The Provisional Korean Government (1919–1945) in Shanghai, China, adopted it as their national anthem. At a ceremony celebrating the founding of South Korea on 15 August 1948, the Scottish tune was finally replaced by the Finale of "Korea Fantasia", which Ahn Eak tai had composed in 1936, though its usage with it had been done unofficially for a few years before then. The new "Aegukga" was later adopted by the Presidential Decree of 1948 by the then South Korean President Syngman Rhee. During official ceremonies until 1987, "Aegukga" was preceded by four ruffles and flourishes, similar to the Taiwanese practice; today the anthem is played following the playing of the presidential honours music.

Since the composer Ahn Eak tai died in 1965, the copyright for the music was to not expire until at least 2036. Two South Korean professional football clubs were sued by a copyright holders' group for playing this song in December 2003. However, on March 16, 2005, the composer's widow—Lolita Ahn—and her family relinquished all rights to "Aegukga" to the South Korean government. "Aegukga" has since become a public domain song.

In 2018, music director, Park In young, gave Aegukga a makeover and added brass and woodwind instruments to the arrangement and she said, “while trying not to change Ahn’s original version, we gave it a more modern spin.” For some Koreans Aegukga doesn’t have any impact or hold any special meaning while others stand proud when they hear or sing it and remember the love their ancestors held and the sacrifices they made in their struggle for independence. For nearly a century, "Aegukga" has been a part of Korean lives to cultivate patriotism and loyalty. Even without any spectators in the wave of the coronavirus pandemic, all sporting events such as pro baseball games start with the song.