The history of Korean popular music can be traced back to 1885 when an American missionary,
Henry Appenzeller, began teaching American and British folk songs at a school.
These songs were called changga (창가; 唱歌),
and they were typically based on a popular Western melody sung with Korean lyrics.
For example, the song "Oh My Darling, Clementine" became known as Simcheongga (심청가; 沈淸歌).
[note 1] During the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945),
the popularity of changga songs rose as Koreans expressed their feelings against
Japanese oppression through music. One of the most popular songs was Huimangga (희망가; 希望歌).
The Japanese confiscated the existingc hangga collections and
published lyrics books of their own.[65]
