Being Forgotten
Saturday, January 03, 2015
As
the 2014 came to an end, we could start the 2015. As one thing comes to an end,
we can start the other thing else. Jennifer Smith in The Geography of You and Me stated that there’s no such thing as a
completely fresh start; everything new arrives on the heels of something old,
and every beginning comes at the cost of an ending. That’s what we called the
cycle of life. Therefore, when a love is over, don’t be too sad. It just means
that life is preparing you for the next. The
Remembered and The Forgotten, the precious treasure called memories; think
of them as your preparations to move on towards the future.
“Like the
nameless grass beneath the bright sun, we were satisfied just by being within
each other’s sight. As time passed by, the dream shattered silently. And we
drifted apart due to our immaturity.” –The Zoo, Being Forgotten (잊혀지는 것)
Let’s
take a moment to contemplate in this beginning of 2015 and calm down the tempo,
as I will write about a classic Korean song titled “Being Forgotten (잊혀지는
것)”.
First released on 1988 by a folk band named The Zoo (in Korean: Dongmulwon (동물원)) as a part of their
first album, this song was later released by a legendary singer, the late Kim
Kwang Seok (who was a member of The Zoo, before going solo in 1989), on 1995. “Being
Forgotten (잊혀지는
것)”
was performed by the musical actor, Im Tae Kyung, on an entertainment music
program “Immortal Songs 2: Singing the Legend”. It was during the 39th episode,
the Kim Chang Gi special episode (Kim
Chang Gi was a member of The Zoo), which was broadcasted by KBS television
station on February 25th 2012, and also by KBS World channel on March 17th 2012.
“Being
Forgotten (잊혀지는
것)”
is a song about first love; about longing for the one that got away, someone
from our past. In life, there are some people whom we are getting estranged
from. Yet, among them, there’s one person who actually never leaves. There’s
one person who always stays in our heart and has his/her own place in it. “Saying the words of love, acting like we
understood everything, whispering in beautiful stories we didn’t understand.
Riding the gentle breeze in the golden dream, talking about tomorrow, which
seemed within grasp of our hands.” We used to dream together about forever
and be satisfied by simple things, but we grew apart due to our immaturity and
insensitiveness. “Saying the words of
love, even leaving a deeper scar, we cried like a child while turning our back
away. Learning to stand alone inside the cold eyes, leaving away without being
able to say the last goodbye.” And so we separated without saying goodbye. It’s
not like we want to go back into the past or turning back the time, just that
it’s fascinating how time could take us anywhere; how people come and go in and
out of our lives and how the memories remain.
Though
“Being Forgotten (잊혀지는
것)”
was performed on “Immortal Songs 2” before, the first time I got attracted to
this folk pop song was when it appeared on 2013 KBS’ mini drama, titled
“Adolescence Medley”. This song was sung by the young actor Kwak Dong Yeon in
that 4-episodes mini drama, during a memorable melancholy rainy scene when his
character sang this song for his girlfriend (portrayed by Lee Se Young). The
poetical lyrics were going so well with the companion of acoustic guitar
melody. The interesting thing is that Kim Chang Gi wrote the lyrics for this
song when he was only 23, which is about the same age as I am now, therefore
somehow I feel so related with the lyrics. The melody sounds so peaceful yet
the lyrics make us thinking deep and back in time, to when we used to be an
immature child.
“I’m
longing for you, the presence that I can’t forget, and now you’re fading into
memories. Love and pain are forgotten in time, and fall asleep in silence.”
–The Zoo, Being Forgotten (잊혀지는 것)
“Sarangira malhamyeo modeun
geotseul ihaehaneun deut tteut moreul areumdaun iyagiro soksakideon uri
(Saying
the words of love, acting like we understood everything, whispering in
beautiful stories we didn’t understand)
Hwanggeumbit mulgyeol
soke budeureoun mipungeul tagoseo sone jabhil geotman gatdeon naeireul hyanghae
hanghaehaetseotji
(Riding
the gentle breeze in the golden dream, talking about tomorrow, which seemed
within grasp of our hands)
Nunbusin haetsal arae
ireum moreul pulipdeulcheoreom seoroui tumyeonghadeon nungil soke manjokhadeon
uri
(Like
the nameless grass beneath the bright sun, we were satisfied just by being
within each other’s sight)
Siganeun heulleogago
kkumeun sori eobsi kkaeeojyeo seoroui eoliseokeumeuro inhae meoreojyeo gatji
(As
time passed by, the dream shattered silently, and we drifted apart due to our
immaturity)
Uuu geuriumeuro idjhyeojiji
andeon moseub uuu ijeneun gieok soke sarajyeogago
(I’m
longing for you, the presence that I can’t forget, and now you’re fading into
memories)
Sarangui apeumdo sigan
soke idjhyeojyeo gin chimmukeuro jamdeureogaji
(Love
and pain are forgotten in time, and fall asleep in silence)
Sarangira malhamyeo deouk
gipeun sangcheoreul namgigo gil ireun aicheoreom ulmeokimyeo doraseodeon uri
(Saying
the words of love, even leaving a deeper scar, we cried like a child while
turning our back away)
Chagaun nungil soke
hollo seoneun geotseul baeumyeo majimak annyeongiran maldo eobsi
tteonagatseotji
(Learning
to stand alone inside the cold eyes, leaving away without being able to say the
last goodbye)
Sum gappeun saenghwal
soke taeyeobsi gamgin jangnangamcheoreom mugamhan balgeoreume manjokhamyeo
saragadeon uri
(Like
a wounded clockwork toy into the shortness breath of life, we were alive and
satisfied with our insensitive steps)
Siganeun heulleogago kkumeun
sori eobsi kkaeeojyeo ijeneun sosikmajeo al su eobneun taini dwaetji
(As
time passed by, the dream shattered silently, and now we had become estranged
without any news)”
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