Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho Release New Song ‘We, the Great Arirang’ for Hangul Day

Musical actors Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho released the crossover new song ‘We, the Great Arirang’, which combines traditional Korean music, classical, and musical elements, at noon on Hangul Day, the 9th. South Korea's representative composing and producing duo Algoboni Honsusangtae participated in the lyrics, composition, arrangement, and producing. The new song was released through various online music sites. It interprets ARIRANG, which has been with the lives of our people for a long time, with modern sensibility and orchestration, and carries the message of a song sung together across generations and regions. This is the second collaboration between Kim So-hyun, Son Jun-ho, and Algoboni Honsusangtae following 2023's ‘Together, Us’.

Officially released as a digital single at noon on Hangul Day

Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho released ‘We, the Great Arirang’ on various online music sites at noon on the 9th. Released to coincide with Hangul Day, the song was launched in a way that re-presents ARIRANG as modern music on a day to reflect on the preciousness of our language and culture. The two had previously pre-released the song during their solo concert ‘2026 Son Jun-ho and Kim So-hyun Concert: Can You Hear Us?’. After introducing it first on the performance stage, it was officially released as a digital single on Hangul Day.

The new song is a crossover track that centers on ARIRANG, which contains the emotions of our people, and interprets the atmosphere of traditional folk songs through a modern musical composition. The release materials explained that, based on the fact that ARIRANG is a song that has been with the lives of our people for a long time, it metaphorically expresses the song passing through generations as a wave spreading out to the wider world. The song title uses both ‘We’ and ‘Great ARIRANG’ to contain the meaning of ‘us’ and ‘Great South Korea’. The new song presents a message that it is an ARIRANG sung by everyone, moving beyond a song for a specific individual.

A composition that connects a small stream to the wide ocean

‘We, the Great Arirang’ metaphors the history of ARIRANG to the flow where a stream starting from a small spring becomes a river and moves toward the ocean. The explanation states that it musically depicts the appearance of a song passed down through generations spreading out to a wider world. While using the emotions of traditional folk songs as a foundation, the arrangement added splendid string melodies, grand chorus, and the resonance of various traditional Korean instruments. It constructed a crossover sound by placing musical elements of traditional Korean music, classical, and musical within one song.

In the chorus, the phrase ‘ARIRANG, ARIRANG, Great ARIRANG’ is repeated. The release materials introduced this part as a familiar and powerful melody that anyone can follow. The lyrics include the phrase ‘From Halla to Baekdu, everyone rise up’. Through these lyrics and the repeating chorus, the song conveys a message of hope and harmony, and of holding hands to move toward a better future. The release materials also stated that it does not stop at modernly arranging traditional folk songs but aims for an ARIRANG sung together across generations and regions.

Vocals by Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho and session performances

Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho have both been active as musical actors and sang together in this song. The release materials explained that the solid vocal abilities and delicate emotional expressions of the two harmonized with the song's arrangement. While preserving the familiar melody of ARIRANG by repeating the chorus, an arrangement combining orchestration and the timbre of traditional Korean instruments was applied.

According to the release reports, session performers included drummer Shin Seok-cheol, bassist Shin Hyun-kwon, and guitarist Lee Sung-yeol. The chorus was handled by Kim Hyun-ah and Won Hyun-jung, and Aesul Forest, which participated in the Yung String and traditional Korean instrument performances, was also listed. Kim Kyung-beom and Kim Ji-hwan of the composing and producing duo Algoboni Honsusangtae were in charge of lyrics, composition, and arrangement. It is explained that the two implemented a sound where Korean beauty and global musical sense coexist by combining the unique emotions of traditional folk songs with modern orchestration.

Second meeting following 2023’s ‘Together, Us’

The collaboration between Kim So-hyun, Son Jun-ho, and Algoboni Honsusangtae is the second following ‘Together, Us’ released in 2023. Following their previous work, the two teams joined together again for this new song. Algoboni Honsusangtae is a composing and producing duo consisting of Kim Kyung-beom and Kim Ji-hwan. The original material reported that the two have collaborated with domestic and international artists such as Jung Hoon-hee, Yoon Bok-hee, Cho Young-nam, Choi Baek-ho, Hye Eun-yi, Kim Yeon-ja, Paul Potts, and Steelheart.

Algoboni Honsusangtae has continued musical work in various genres, including drama OSTs, ballads, adult contemporary, classical, traditional Korean music, and crossover. In this song, they took charge of lyrics, composition, arrangement, and producing, connecting the emotions of traditional folk songs with modern arrangement. Following their previous collaboration, the two and Kim So-hyun and Son Jun-ho met again to complete the song released on Hangul Day. The collaboration history and key information for this song are summarized as follows.

‘We, the Great Arirang’ was released through online music sites at noon on the 9th. After being pre-released at the concert, it was released as an official digital single on Hangul Day, and it is a work where Kim So-hyun, Son Jun-ho, and Algoboni Honsusangtae joined together again since 2023. It is a new song that reinterprets ARIRANG with an arrangement that blends traditional Korean instruments, strings, chorus, and session performances, along with a repeating chorus.

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