목련꽃 활짝 핀 뜨락에 서서
꽃처럼 하얗게 웃어 봅니다
긴 겨울 가지마다 꿈을 키워서
눈부시게 피어난 새봄의 꽃이여
나도 아름답게 피어나고파
꽃처럼 하얗게 웃어 봅니다
Composer 김애경 / Lyricist 박수진 (朴水鎭)
Listen (파랑새 창작동요 8집 Singer 김현정)
Standing in the garden with magnolia radiantly in bloom,
I try to smile as brightly as those flowers.
The dreams that have been incubating inside every branch throughout the long winter
are now flourishing so brilliantly as flowers of the new spring!
(Looking at those flowers,) I also want to blossom beautifully myself,
and I try to smile as brightly as them.
If I were asked to name a Korean children's song that is both short and sweet, this would definitely be my go-to answer. In my opinion, this song has succeeded in creating the most bright and lively image in the fewest words possible. Indeed, this song has a very compact structure as can be seen from the Korean lyrics, although my unskillful "attempted translation" makes it look longer and more complicated than it actually is.
The lyrics consist of six lines. The first two lines serve to create the basic image of a beautifully smiling girl standing amidst a garden with magnolia trees in full blossom. It also establishes the first-person point of view without using the pronoun "I" explicitly, as is typical in the Korean language. With mild and tender melody, the listener's mind is effortlessly drawn to this delightful scene, waiting for details to unfold. Then comes the imaginative bit: the flowers are painted as the pinnacle of "dreams" incubating inside the tree branches during the winter, which gives them a sense of preciousness and vitality, leading naturally to the exclamatory expression 새봄의 꽃이여 (flowers of new spring!). At this point, the music reaches a climax and the emotional basis of this song, namely the appreciation of the candid and bright spring flowers, is complete. The last two lines serve as a "recaptulation", with identical melody to the first two lines. It is here that the first-person pronoun 나 (I) explicitly appears to emphasize "my" awareness of the transmissive effect of the flowers' beauty. By restating "my" smile as an effort to mimic the flowers, the song comes full circle in meaning. I think this song embodies a simple and self-contained sense of charm that is very hard to come by nowadays.
The candid and bright flowers of magnolia (목련 mong-nyeon in Korean)
This song was first sang by a 5th grade girl by the name of 김현정 (Kim Hyeon-Jeong) from 은석초 (恩石初, name of primary school), seoul at the 16th MBC children's song festival in 1998. It won the bronze prize. (The grand prize was awarded to 오솔길, which I also have an article about.) She was wearing an elegant white dress on stage, complete with a pair of white gloves and a white knit hat. Her radiant smile suits this song very well.
Video of this song from the 1998 MBC children's song festival
Kim Hyeon-Jeong has two recordings of this song. The first one was included in the official CD of the 16th MBC children's song festival. The second one was included in 파랑새 창작동요 8집, released slightly later in the same year. The linked audio above is the second one. The first one can be found at koreadongyo.net. Numerous other girl singers have recorded this song, which obviously serves as a proof of its charm and popularity. At least 9 different versions can be found.
There is another song by the same composer and the same lyricist that is among my favorites. It is 눈 내린 마을 (Little village after snow) of 1993. I am definitely going to write about it later.
