English lyrics to Kim Yoon Ah’s Song on the Sinking of the Sewol Ferry

In her 2016 solo album, Kim Yoon Ah (김윤아) released River (강), a song written on the sinking of the Sewol Ferry.

The ferry heading to South Korea’s Jeju Island carried mostly school students. It started sinking on 16th April 2014 and led to the death of over 300 people. The 2018 documentary In the Absence accounts the events that unfolded from that day.

On the 6th anniversary of the Sewol Ferry disaster, an official clip of Kim Yoon Ah’s live performance of the song River was uploaded. Here’s the emotional and powerful delivery of that song from Season 2 of JTBC’s busking show Begin Again (비긴어게인) and the English translation of the lyrics below.

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Translated Lyrics to ‘River’ (강) by Kim Yoon Ah (김윤아)

너의 이름 노래가 되어서
가슴 안에 강처럼 흐르네
흐르는 그 강을 따라서 가면
너에게 닿을까
언젠가는 너에게 닿을까

Your name became a song
Flowing like a river within my heart
If I follow the flowing river
Would I reach you
Would I reach you someday

그리움은 바람이 되어서
가슴 안을 한없이 떠도네
너의 이름을 부르며 강은 흐르네
다시 돌아오지 못할 곳으로
누가 너의 손을 잡아 줄까

The longing became the wind
Wandering endlessly within my heart
I call out your name as the river flows
To a place of no return
Who would then hold your hand

홀로 남겨진 외로움과
산산이 부서진 이 마음과
붙잡아 둘 수 없는 기억들이
그 강을 채워 넘치네

The loneliness that comes from solitude
The heart that shattered in pieces
The memories that cannot be held
Overflow from that river

너의 이름도 너의 목소리도
너를 품에 안았던 순간들도
덧없이 흩어져버리네
강으로
그 강으로

Even your name, even your voice
Even the moments when I held you in embrace
Scatter in vain
To the river
To that river

너의 이름 노래가 되어서
가슴 안에 강처럼 흐르네
흐르는 그 강을 따라 나를 버리면
너를 다시 볼 수 있을까
강은 흘러흘러 사라져만 가네

Your name became a song
Flowing like a river within my heart
If I throw myself into the flowing river
Would I see you again
The river flows and just fades away

More Lyrics

Wildflower by Park Hyo Shin

It’s Fortunate by Lee Juck

Songs by Kim Yoon Ah’s Band ‘Jaurim’