Evergreen
(상록수)

performed by
Yang Hee-eun (양희은)
lyrics and music by
Kim Min-gi (김민기)
album (Yang Hee-eun)
Like the Lush Pines in the Barren Field
(거치른 들판에 푸르른 솔잎처럼), 1979
album (Kim Min-gi)
Kim Min-gi 3 (김민기 3), 1993
상록수
Evergreen

저 들에 푸르른 솔잎을 보라
Look at the lush pine trees in the field
돌보는 사람도 하나 없는데
Out there with no one looking after them
비바람 맞고 눈보라 쳐도
Facing wind and rain, taking snowstorms
온 누리 끝까지 맘껏 푸르다
They are thriving green all over the world

서럽고 쓰리던 지난날들도
The old times of sorrow and hardship
다시는 다시는 오지 말라고
We pray not again, we pray never again
땀 흘리리라 깨우치리라
We will toil, we will enlighten ourselves
거칠은 들판에 솔잎 되리라
To be the evergreen in the barren field

우리들 가진 것 비록 적어도
Though we have little in our possession
손에 손 맞잡고 눈물 흘리니
Holding hands in hands we shed a tear
우리 나갈 길 멀고 험해도
Long and hard though our road may be
깨치고 나아가 끝내 이기리라
We'll lead ourselves to prevail in the end

우리 가진 것 비록 적어도
Though we have little in our possession
손에 손 맞잡고 눈물 흘리니
Holding hands in hands we shed a tear
우리 나갈 길 멀고 험해도
Long and hard though our road may be
깨치고 나아가 끝내 이기리라
We'll lead ourselves to prevail in the end

깨치고 나아가 끝내 이기리라
We'll lead ourselves to prevail in the end
상록수

저 들에 푸르른 솔잎을 보라
돌보는 사람도 하나 없는데
비바람 맞고 눈보라 쳐도
온 누리 끝까지 맘껏 푸르다

서럽고 쓰리던 지난날들도
다시는 다시는 오지 말라고
땀 흘리리라 깨우치리라
거칠은 들판에 솔잎 되리라

우리들 가진 것 비록 적어도
손에 손 맞잡고 눈물 흘리니
우리 나갈 길 멀고 험해도
깨치고 나아가 끝내 이기리라

우리 가진 것 비록 적어도
손에 손 맞잡고 눈물 흘리니
우리 나갈 길 멀고 험해도
깨치고 나아가 끝내 이기리라

깨치고 나아가 끝내 이기리라

Evergreen

Look at the lush pine trees in the field
Out there with no one looking after them
Facing wind and rain, taking snowstorms
They are thriving green all over the world

The old times of sorrow and hardship
We pray not again, we pray never again
We will toil, we will enlighten ourselves
To be the evergreen in the barren field

Though we have little in our possession
Holding hands in hands we shed a tear
Long and hard though our road may be
We'll lead ourselves to prevail in the end

Though we have little in our possession
Holding hands in hands we shed a tear
Long and hard though our road may be
We'll lead ourselves to prevail in the end

We'll lead ourselves to prevail in the end
a beautiful studio rendition by Yang Hee-eun
by Kim Min-gi
pine trees in Kumgangsan
pine trees in Kumgangsan, N.Korea
By yeowatzup at Flickr CC BY 2.0

Kim Min-gi's Evergreen (상록수) is known as a song written for the occasion of a mass wedding (or it could have been multiple weddings) of friends he was working with as a laborer. It comes across as a solemn declaration by people embarking on a new journey in their quest for a better future, regardless of who it might have been written for originally. In the newfound courage and resolve, the protagonists vow to change themselves, to be strong and resilient like the evergreen pines, no matter how long and hard the road may be, and all this by working hard and enlightening themselves rather than blaming or antagonizing others.

Much like the earlier Morning Dew (아침이슬), the song is a message of hope, inspiring many who have fallen on a hard time and serving as a rallying cry of solidarity for citizens on many momentous occasions of recent Korean history. It has left the creator's hand, as he once mentioned in an interview, and gone to the hearts of the mass, to become an anthem for the resilient ordinary people.

The song ends with a determined self-declaration that they'll lead themselves to prevail in the end. Carried by Yang Hee-eun's refreshing voice that seems to appeal to the soul, it stays with you as a resolute message of peace and hope, as an unwavering will to march on in search of good.



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Yang Hee-eun (양희은)

Folk singer with a resonant contralto voice who has been a major figure in Korean folk music since the 1970s.

Kim Min-gi (김민기)

Singer-songwriter famous for such seminal works of the 70s and 80s as Morning Dew (아침 이슬) and Evergreen (상록수)