On the Comparative Study of African American’s Blues and Korean’s Arirang

Abstract

There are diverse cultures which have been expressed and sublimed into the form of art when we look into the world history. When it comes to African American culture and Korean culture, African American’s blues, spirituality, and Korean’s Arirang have been in the deep ideological root of the two nations. Under unilateral dominance and colonization, African Americans and Korean nations needed something that could embrace and burst out their agony and sadness. It was the African-American spirituality, blues, and Arirang that sometimes became their mother, their partner and their social company, consoling their despair. Although the early African-American spiritual and blues and Korean’s Arirang didn’t have any specific musical form, they were the reflectors of the two nations’ emotion and culture. It is a legacy that best reflects the sentiment of two nations. The analysis on blues, Black spiritual and Arirang in this paper will be looked into the same viewpoint of Ayana Smith and J Rhee who claimed that African American’ and Korean’s positive power was originated from their singing of blues and Arirang. This paper will unceasingly try hard to analyze the traces of their positive identity through their history and their life story. Blues and Black spiritual were sung anywhere of their life to express their true story. Arirang and other folk songs were also sung anywhere Koreans scattered to burst out their anger, sadness and joy. Likewise, the examination of the history of blues, Black spiritual and Arirang let the readers face up African American’s and Korean’s real life in the form of art. The finding in this paper will supply people with more understanding of blues and Arirang for African Americans and Koreans who were in unique historical and cultural situation. This paper will look into how the musical foundation of these two nations could become the cornerstone of rebuilding up their positive identity in the harsh reality. It will be researched and analyzed in the view of Ayana Smith and J Rhee. This study will explore and analyze the history of blues, Black spiritual and Arirang, which played a crucial role in establishing the positive identity of the two peoples.