Thank you for this writeup! I really loved the song when I first heard it. After learning more about the craze that surrounded Seo Taiji and Boys through AM 1994 and listening to some of his songs from that era, it's no doubt he is a very a talented songwriter.

It's fantastic how much meaning one can derive from a song that on the surface just sounds very sweet and catchy. I would not have expected anything less from someone with his talent.

Fascinating back story on a question I would never even known to ask. The relative newness of South Korea's democratic government and its turbulent history is an easy thing to miss if you are like me and your primary point of contact with its culture and history is through pop culture-- it's easy to get distracted by the shiny shiny. As an outsider it requires a level of knowledge that I lack. It's great to have someone explain what's going on.

Thank you for such insightful explanation; without it, it would have been, to me, only about loss of young innocent love. Now, it has a deeper meaning to me- perhaps the writer also mourns the loss of his could have been peaceful youth...
I would have totally thought the song was cheery( only the melody since I do not understand Korean) if 1) I didnt see the MV & 2) your clarification of the social turbulence then. Thank you

Amazing.... this song is entire galaxies removed from what we normally know as kpop.

I vaguely know bits and pieces about the dictatorship era and what it took for South Korea to become a democracy, including the torture of student activists (largely thanks to films and tv, which isn't enough) so the history lesson in the song is very much appreciated. Thank you, TK!

Wow! Thanks. It's still so hardfor me to get my mind around the South Korean dictatorship and how relatively recent it all was.

Thank you, TK. I really liked reading about th song's meaning. Through song, it is a haunting telling of a childhood memory - this would make a wonderfully informative and heartfeld YA story, something along the lines of Angel in the Square - one of my favorite YA stories. Somehow it gives me the same feeling - a young person's view of their life in time and history.

(publisher's summary)
In the fall of 1914, safe behind palace walls, Katya Ivanova sees St. Petersburg as a magical place.
The daughter of a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, Katya spends all her time with the Grand Duchesses; the royal family feels like her own. But outside the palace, a terrible war is sweeping through Europe, and Russia is beginning to crumble under the weight of a growing revolution. Now, as Katya′s once-certain future begins to dissolve, she must seek to understand what is happening to her beloved country and, for the first time in her life, take charge of her own destiny.

YES!!! Two of my favourite bloggers teaming up! Please please have more guest posts from TK if you can!! Thank you XD

Wow...
Thank you Javabeans, TK, and Ask A Korean :)

This gives so much more insight and context into why S.Korea is the way that it is today and Seo Taiji's song; it also helps with the context, background, and understanding of the recently finished weekend drama "Endless Love".....
Everything of that drama makes sooooooo much more sense now!!! ^.......^

Much, much appreciated. I also love you blog, TK...and JB, GF, thank you for having him answer this question. Seo Tai Ji...no word..*standing ovation*

Hurray! A post from TK... I'm a big fan of AAK.

Thank you for your edification regarding this song, it makes listening a much deeper and richer experience :)

many many thanks to javabeans and TK for this post...i thoroughly enjoyed knowing the history...although i can only imagine how frightening the time period was!!

Enjoyed this story behind the song very much.

Thank you TK and JB!!!! please do visit us again TK!!! with my limited Korean I thought I understood something but then after reading this I realized I still know very little :'(
I thoroughly enjoyed this article, having my 2 favorite bloggers together is even better!!!

Every time I read something about like this, I feel so sad for all the people of Korea (South and North) who are powerless in the face of authority. Or so it seems to me, anyway. I'm glad that most of these dark days are behind the people of South Korea, but the people of North Korea, I would assume, are still going through these types of things. It just makes me sad and I pray for the day when all this terrible stuff can be nothing more than a memory.

Nice song, by the way. Seo Tae-ji has a nice voice.

Kind of awesome, my instagram handle is Sogyeokdong!

This is great! I really enjoy reading AAK, and I think it's amazing the international followers of Korean popular culture can learn more about the history and tradition of Korea.

Please, keep it up!

Wow, what a perfect complement your writing is to Dramabeans. I appreciate the diplomacy of your writing. It's a gift to be able to handle sensitive subjects in a non-inflammatory way. So well done.

Re: A modified version of this drill still goes on to this day in Korea, which tends to alarm tourists and foreign journalists...

These days wouldn't they just think Do Min Joon was paying a visit? ;-)

Thank you for posting. I hope you write more.

Thank you for the explanation.

I am not a Seo Taiji fan and would have just dismissed the song. But your explanations- disturbing as it is to learn the truth behind Kpop- will stay in my mind.

It makes me think seriously about why he would need to write such song lyrics. It's disturbing yet understandable if that period of his life was significant- that being a singer/ writer that he wanted to express his thoughts about it.

So thank you so much for taking the time to write and explain all this to us.

I am now going off to ponder how I feel about learning about the propaganda and all the poor students in those times.

I learned so much from this post. Thanks.

Thank you. I am in tears.

This piece of writing from T.K/ dramabeans is the most meaningful discussion on Seo Taiji's 소격동. I've seen fans fighting about whether IU's or STJ's singing is better to no end, which completely misses the historical lesson embodied in STJ's artistic vision. It is a pity that most viewers only interpret this song as a typical Korean ballad, which is never the genre STJ is seriously interested at (except something like For You as we heard from Reply 1994).

It is also doubly meaningful that he asks IU to sing this song, because he wants to remind the younger generations of Koreans that Korea has gone a long way to become a democratic nation as it is now. This song, together with The Attorney starring Song Kang Ho or Sunny in 2011, are trying to document the historical memories buried by the *appearance* of material affluence and capitalist establishments. Let's not forget the Sewol tragedy and its aftermath. South Korea, like the rest of the so-called democratic countries including USA, still has a long way to go in order to have a real democratic and responsible government that takes care of its own people instead of depriving or jeopardizing their right to live. (Christmalo.win is another song loaded with social criticism and political metapors).

Lastly but not the least importantly, thanks goodness that there is still Seo Taji. He might not be as powerful and influential as before, but he still uses his music to make a social commentary, which, for me, testifies his stature as an artist.

Thank you for the post TK.

It was really interesting to learn about recent Korean's history and I liked the song.

BTW I heard that when there the sirens go off for the drills everyone has to get off the street. Is it correct?