Arirang Performed by Jang Sa-ik and the Seoul City Choral Society

Above, the 600-year-old Korean folk song sung by a man who "pieces together popular music, jazz, and traditional Korean music, including elements of a traditional style of opera known as pansori" — Jang Sa-ik: the guy next door with a voice out of this world. "People want to define everything," the singer said. "I believe I have come to sing like this after spending many years listening to different types of music such as Korean pop songs, traditional Korean music, Western classical music and pop songs."

The folk song lends its title to this "controversial film" in the news — Director Kim Ki-duk wins award in Cannes for `Arirang`. "The government gave me an award for winning a prize at a foreign film festival," said the director. "There were even scenes where Korea was portrayed negatively. Did they even watch the movie?"

The article informs us, "It is not clear if it will be released in Korea as no Korean distributor has picked up the movie yet."