Nat King Cole sings 'Arirang'

With Christmas on the way, some of you may find Nat King Cole’s ‘Christmas Song’ playing to chestnuts roasting on an open fire. You may also be surprised to know that Nat King Cole also sang ‘Arirang’ on a visit to South Korea in 1964.

The recording is quite fun to listen to and Cole was able to reach his Korean audience at the Seoul Municipal Auditorium. At 00:53 he plays with words ‘Arirang’, adding a bit of a jazz touch, much to amusement of the listeners. The American magazine Stars and Stripes reported that Cole felt ‘close to the audience’.

'Arirang' is perhaps Korea's most famous song. There are numerous regional variations of the song both north and south as well as Koreans living abroad.

You too can learn 'Arirang' on any trip to North Korea with Koryo Tours. Koryo Tours organises scheduled group tours and custom independent tours to North Korea throughout the year.