Ssa-ga (unofficial chant)

General Information about Item:
  • Genre and Sub Genre –  Verbal Folklore (song) with connotations of Cutomary Folklore: Rituals / Rites of Passage
  • Language – English (interview), song itself (Korean)
  • Country where Item is from – South Korea

Informant Data:

DongHyun Lee is a 23-year old male from South Korea. He is currently a sophomore at University of Hong Kong. He has served in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Corps from June 23rd 2014 to March 22nd 2016. He was stationed in a battalion in Yeong Pyeong Island, one of the northern most islands closer to North Korea than South Korea. His job was a machine gun marksmen for the first half of his service time and a cook for the second half.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context – DongHyun Lee was interviewed over Skype because he is currently located in Hong Kong. He went on his first regular leave after 3 months of service. It was the first time he returned to society since he started his service. His parents were in Shanghai, China so he stayed with his grandparents. He recalls it was one of the happiest few days in his life.
  • Cultural Context – In the South Korean military, not just in the marine corps, the first regular leave of a soldier has a special meaning, not just in military culture but also in society in general (because most Korean males serve due to conscription). The first leave means returning home and meeting family and friends for the first time since enlisting. The nature of conscription makes this a very special time for not just the soldier for those around him.

Item:

  • Ssa-ga (translated as unofficial chant). It is a tradition among ROK marines. The song’s origins are unclear but different variations are very much alive and well-transmitted in different ROK marine units. Ssa-ga is actually a collection of different songs sung in different occasions. The informant’s recollection and recitation was the first-leave ssa-ga, which had to be sung to a marine’s parents right in the place and the time the soldier meets his parents on the first day of the first leave. The informant was a special case in that he had to sing it through Skype since his parents were in Shanghai, China (his comrades most usually sang it in public places e.g. bus terminal).

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Korean original version (English translation each line below)

신병위로휴가가 – The New Soldier First Leave Ssaga

어두운 밤하늘에 팔각모쓰고, 골목길을 걸어갈 때에

Under the dark night with my 8-pointer on, when I’m walking in the alley

저 멀리 어머니 나와계신다 못난 아들 마중하려고

I see my mama standing in the dark, waiting to greet this ingrateful son

어머니 어머니 울지마세요 울지말고 들어가세요

Mother, Mother, please don’t cry. Please go back inside.

다음에 이 다음에 전역하거든 못한 효도 다 할게요

Next time, next time when I get discharged, I will do my best to make up for the lost time

Informant’s Comments:

Informant was a little embarassed to sing this and thought it was a little funny that he had to sing it over skype. In fact, he was the only one in his company at the time to have sung the Ssa-ga this way. One of his comrades sang it in front of his parents the Incheon Freight terminal packed with people.

Collector’s Comments:

The texture of the song is lost in translation, but the original audio is attached for those interested. It is an interesting combination of a verbal folklore that also serves as a customary folklore that has meanings as a rites of passage: for the first time the marine presents himself with his military identity to those who have known him only as his civilian self.

Collector’s Name:

Jeong Tae Bang

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