Aegukga

"Aegukga" (Korean: 애국가; Hanja: 愛國歌), often translated as "Patriotic Song", is the national anthem of South Korea. It was adopted in 1948, the year after the country's formation. Its music was composed in the 1930s and arranged most recently in 2018; its lyrics date back to the 1890s. The lyrics of "Aegukga" were originally set to the music of the Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" before Ahn Eak-tai composed a unique melody specifically for it in 1935. Before the founding of South Korea, the version set to the music of "Auld Lang Syne" was sung, as well as when Korea was under Japanese rule by dissidents. The version set to the melody composed by Ahn Eak-tai was adopted as the national anthem of the Korean exile government, which existed during Korea's occupation by Japan from the early 1910s to the mid-1940s. "Aegukga" has four verses, but on most occasions only the first one, followed by the chorus, is sung when performed publicly at events such as baseball games and football matches. Performance of this anthem is prohibited in North Korea, as it is treated as a grave political crime.