BTS (방탄소년단) - '아리랑 (Arirang)’ Lyrics
- BTS Lyric Translations
- Mar 25, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: 52 minutes ago
*아리랑 (Arirang)” is Korea’s most iconic traditional folk song — not a single fixed piece, but a living musical tradition passed down and reshaped over generations. Sung in many regional versions, the song expresses themes of separation, longing, resilience, and quiet emotional endurance. Its famous refrain, “아리랑 아리랑 아라리요,” carries more feeling than literal meaning, acting as a melodic expression of sorrow and hope. Often centered on the image of crossing a mountain pass, Arirang reflects life’s hardships and the bittersweet nature of love and departure. Over time, it became a symbol of Korean identity and collective emotion, embodying the deep sense of han — a mix of grief, beauty, and perseverance that continues to resonate with listeners today.
BTS (방탄소년단) - '아리랑 (Arirang)' Lyrics (With English Translation)
[Jungkook] : Ah ha, ah, ah, ah, ah ha
[Suga] : BTS
[Jungkook] : Ah ha,
[RM] : Are you ready for this?
[Jungkook] : ah, ah, ah, ah ha
[RM] : 1, 2, 3
[Suga] : Let's go
[Jin] : 아리랑 아리랑 아라리요
Arirang Arirang Arariyo
*These aren’t words with a clean dictionary meaning. They’re vocables—sound-based refrain words, kind of like “la la la” or “hey hey” in English folk music. The sounds carry emotion rather than literal meaning: longing, sadness, endurance, love, separation, nostalgia. Depending on the version, it can feel mournful, hopeful, or quietly resolute.
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다
Crossing over the Arirang (mountain) pass
*In Korean culture, 고개 (a mountain pass) is a powerful metaphor for separation, hardship, crossing into a new phase of life, farewell (sometimes permanent), or emotional distance, not just physical distance. So this line is not really about walking over a hill. It usually implies someone leaving, lovers being separated, enduring pain, exile, or fate, or crossing a point you can’t easily return from.
*In Arirang, the word 아리랑 functions both as a musical refrain and as the name of a symbolic mountain pass. The song turns an emotional sound into a place, allowing the listener to experience separation as something that can be physically crossed.
[Jungkook] : 나를 버리고 가시는 님은
My beloved, who abandons me and goes
십 리도 못 가서 발병 난다
Shall not walk even ten ri before their feet are sore
*리 (ri) is a traditional Korean unit of distance (about 400 meters), and in folk songs it often means “not very far,” emphasizing how quickly a journey or resolve fails.
[V] : 아리랑 아리랑 아라리요
Arirang Arirang Arariyo
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다
Crossing over the Arirang (mountain) pass
[Jungkook] : 아리아리아리랑
Ariariarirang
쓰리쓰리랑
Sseurisseurirang
*쓰리쓰리랑 doesn’t have a literal dictionary meaning — it’s a rhythmic chant / refrain sound, similar to 아리랑, 아라리요. It carries mood, not semantic meaning.
아라리가 났네
Arari has begun
*아라리가 났네 — literally “Arari has arisen,” where 아라리 is a folk-style refrain. The phrase expresses that something lively or dramatic has begun rather than referring to a specific event.
아리랑 ooh ooh wohoo
Arirang ooh ooh wohoo
아라리가 났네
Arari has begun
[Jimin] : 날 다려가거라
Take me with you
날 다려가거라
Take me with you
무정한 우리 님아
O my heartless beloved
날 다려가거라
Take me with you
[Jungkook] : 아리아리아리랑
Ariariarirang
쓰리쓰리랑
Sseurisseurirang
아라리가 났네
Arari has begun
아리랑 ooh ooh wohoo
Arirang ooh ooh wohoo
아라리가 났네
Arari has begun
[Jimin] : 아리아리아리랑
Ariariarirang
쓰리쓰리랑
Sseurisseurirang
아라리가 났네
Arari has begun
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다
Crossing over the Arirang (mountain) pass
[Jin] : 날 좀 보소
Look at me
날 좀 보소
Look at me
날 좀 보소
Look at me
동지섣달 꽃 본 듯이
As if seeing a flower in the deep winter
*A flower in winter = rare, precious, surprising beauty. So the phrase describes a feeling like sudden joy, amazement, or seeing something unexpectedly beautiful after hardship. Emotionally, it suggests being deeply moved — like encountering a flower when you thought nothing could bloom.
날 좀 보소
Look at me
[Jungkook] : 아리아리아리랑
Ariariarirang
쓰리쓰리랑
Sseurisseurirang
아라리가 났네
Arari has begun
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다
Crossing over the Arirang (mountain) pass
[V] : 나를 버리고 가시는 님은
My beloved, who abandons me and goes
십 리도 못 가서 발병 난다
Shall not walk even ten ri before their feet are sore
[j-hope] : 백 만년 지켜왔지
I've kept this for a million years
*백 만년 = a million years → often used poetically to mean a very, very long time, not literally. It’s like saying: “I’ve held onto this forever.”
*Nuance of 지켜왔지: not just “protected” once, but protected continuously over time. Suggests endurance, tradition, or loyalty, and carries a feeling of long-standing devotion or something preserved through hardship.
긍지와 자부심
My pride and self respect
모든 걸 이겨왔지
We've overcome everything
꺾인 적 없어 한 번도
Never even breaking once
[Jungkook] : 한 번 큰 걸음 시작한 여기
One big step started here
뜨거운 해가 떠오르는 밝은 땅
The bright land with the rising hot sun
*This imagery suggests hope, renewal, vitality, or a powerful new beginning. It feels expansive — like describing a homeland, a new era, or a place filled with promise.
[All] : 아리아리 쓰리쓰리
Ariari Sseurisseuri
아라리요
Arariyo
아리아리 고개로 넘어간다
Crossing over the Arirang (mountain) pass
만나보세
Let's meet
만나보세
Let's meet
만나보세
Let's meet
아주 까리 정자로
At a very cool pavilion / In a very cool proper, polished way
*정자로 comes from 정자 + –로, where –로 shows direction or manner. Depending on context, 정자 can refer to a pavilion (a scenic meeting spot) or a proper, polished way/style, so the phrase may describe either a location (“to the pavilion”) or the manner something is done (“neatly” or “in proper form”).
만나보세
Let's meet
아리아리 쓰리쓰리
Ariari Sseurisseuri
아라리요
Arariyo
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다
Crossing over the Arirang (mountain) pass
[Jimin] : 나를 버리고 가시는 님은
My beloved, who abandons me and goes
십 리도 못 가서 발병 난다
Shall not walk even ten ri before their feet are sore
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