Oral Tradition Patterns and Significance of Arirang of the Chinese Koreans This study classified the 77 pieces of Arirang recorded in the four volumes of folk song collection into two types of 'general-type Arirang' and 'local Arirang.' The study also examined the patterns of oral tradition for each type. 1. The form of the 'general-type Arirang' consists of 'trimeter couplet' and basic refrains. This is very simple and easy form and so everyone can easily sing and recreate readily. Therefore this form could be handed down from generation to generation to become a representative Arirang type enjoyed by the Koreans living in China. 2. The 'local Arirang' from could be handed down by way of the village communities of the Chinese Koreans and their feelings of homesickness. Unlike the general-type Arirang, however, local Arirang could not be handed down to the whole Koreans in China; this oral tradition was confined to the Koreans of a certain village communities or to the people from a certain areas. Today, the village communities collapsed and the first-generation Korean immigrants disappeared and therefore the local Arirang lost its strength to be handed down. As a result, nowadays the local Arirang can only be found in the form of a stage art. 3. The characteristic shown in the refrain types of Arirang of the Chinese Koreans lies in the fact that the weight of Type I is remarkably high compared with other types and this implies that the other refrain types tend to be gradually integrated into Type I which is a representative refrain of Arirang.

Oral Tradition Patterns and Significance of Arirang of the Chinese Koreans This study classified the 77 pieces of Arirang recorded in the four volumes of folk song collection into two types of 'general-type Arirang' and 'local Arirang.' The study also examined the patterns of oral tradition for each type. 1. The form of the 'general-type Arirang' consists of 'trimeter couplet' and basic refrains. This is very simple and easy form and so everyone can easily sing and recreate readily. Therefore this form could be handed down from generation to generation to become a representative Arirang type enjoyed by the Koreans living in China. 2. The 'local Arirang' from could be handed down by way of the village communities of the Chinese Koreans and their feelings of homesickness. Unlike the general-type Arirang, however, local Arirang could not be handed down to the whole Koreans in China; this oral tradition was confined to the Koreans of a certain village communities or to the people from a certain areas. Today, the village communities collapsed and the first-generation Korean immigrants disappeared and therefore the local Arirang lost its strength to be handed down. As a result, nowadays the local Arirang can only be found in the form of a stage art. 3. The characteristic shown in the refrain types of Arirang of the Chinese Koreans lies in the fact that the weight of Type I is remarkably high compared with other types and this implies that the other refrain types tend to be gradually integrated into Type I which is a representative refrain of Arirang.