KOREA (South) : Korea (South) National Anthem
Korean (South) National Anthem
National Anthem of South Korea
Aegukka

• Author: Yun Ch'i-Ho (1865-1946) or An Ch'ang-Ho (1878-1938)
• Composer: Ahn Eaktay (1905-1965)
• Adopted: 1948
• National Day: August 15 (1945) - Liberation Day
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• Further details: It is generally believed that the words of the National Anthem of the Republic of South Korea, were written towards the end of the 19th century by either YUN CH'I-HO (1865-1946), a politician, or by AN CH'ANG-HO (1878-1938), an independence leader and educator.
  
  The composer of the music of the National Anthem was AHN EAKTAY (1905-1965). He was born in Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea. He first studied music at a conservatory in Japan, majoring in the cello. In 1930, he went to the United States to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and later at the music department of Cincinnati Bible Seminary. Eaktay entered the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1936. In 1937, he studied under the tutelage of Richard Strauss in Vienna and composed the music of the National Anthem. In that year, he became the permanent conductor of the Mallorca Orchestra in Madrid. Thereafter, he served also as guest conductor for more than 200 orchestras around the world and composed many works.
  
  During Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), the use of the National Anthem was banned but overseas Koreans continued to sing it to express a yearning for national independence. Eaktay's composition was officially adopted by the Provisional Korean Government (1919-1945) in Shanghai, China. It was later sung at a ceremony celebrating the founding of the Republic of Korea Government on August 15 1948, following national liberation in 1945. Thus, it informally became the National Anthem of the Republic of South Korea.