The unusual thing about the history of the creation of the anthem of the Korean Republic is that there are two known attempts to create it: "from above" - ​​on the initiative of the king, and "from below" - by an unknown author who wrote the words of a song that quickly became a folk song.

The first attempt to create a Korean national anthem was made by King Gojong in 1902. The task was given to the German composer and conductor Franz Eckert, who had previously collaborated on the Japanese anthem. The anthem was written and distributed to military units for performance. However, in 1910, Korea lost its independence, and the first anthem was long forgotten. It was only in the 1960s that its lyrics and music were republished.

But the attempt "from below" proved successful. Back in the late 19th century, an unknown author wrote lyrics that became popular and were sung first to the tune of the British national anthem, and later to the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne." It is known, for example, that it was performed as early as November 1896, at the opening of the "Independence Arch." It is said that in the late 1940s, the Encyclopedia Britannica sent an official inquiry to the Korean government regarding the author of the lyrics to the Republic of Korea anthem; by that time, the anthem had already been officially adopted. However, historical research has not allowed a definitive conclusion on this matter. It has been established that the earliest known performance of the anthem is associated with a Pyongyang school. Therefore, according to one theory, the author of the lyrics is Yun Chi-ho, who was the director of this school at the time (he is a well-known Korean publicist, writer, and politician). But this is only a theory, for which no evidence has yet been found, despite the creation of a special commission to study the matter.

In 1936, composer and conductor Ahn Ik-tae, who lived primarily in Spain , wrote a new version of the anthem. He reportedly presented the music to Korean athletes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and they loved it. The anthem was adopted by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Exile. It was only after liberation in 1945 that it was performed in Korea, and in 1948 it was officially recognized as the national anthem of the Republic of Korea. The anthem is called "Aegukga," which means "love your country" in Korean.