Hand in Hand (Olympic theme song) explained

Hand in Hand
Cover:	Hand in Hand (Olympic theme song).jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Koreana
Album:	Hand in Hand
Released:	1988
Length:	4:13
Label:	Polydor
Producer:	Giorgio Moroder

"Hand in Hand" is a song by South Korean band Koreana that was the official theme song of the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. It is sung in both Korean and English and was produced by Giorgio Moroder. Its English lyrics were written by Tom Whitlock while its Korean lyrics were penned by Kim Moon-hwan.^[1]

"Hand in Hand" topped the music charts of several European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany. It has since been translated and covered several times. In 2013, Moroder said that the original singer of the demo recording that he presented to PolyGram was Joe Pizzulo, not Koreana.^[2]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[3]	98
Denmark (IFPI)^[4]	3
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[5]	4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[6]	21
Portugal (AFP)^[7]	3

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)	Position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[8]	4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[9]	3
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[10]	21

Cover versions and cultural references

• A Mandarin version of the song, called 心手相連 (xin shou xiang lian, hearts and hands join), performed by Alan Tam.
• A Cantonese version of the song, called 一呼百應 (Yat hu bat ying, many people respond to one call), performed by Hong Kong singers Timothy Wong and Pearl Lee.^[11]
• A Swedish version, called "Jul i vinterland" (Eng. Christmas in Winterland"), with lyrics by Keith Almgren, has been recorded by Wizex in 1988 on Christmas compilation albums and on single in 1991.
• On August 14, 2016, South Korean girl group I.O.I released a digital single and remake of the song.^[12]
• In Venezuela, the group Papel Carbón made a version of this song in Spanish.

In popular culture

• The ending part of the song was featured in the original version of the Pingu episode "Ice Hockey", whereas the redubbed version has an original piece of instrumental music in its place.
• The song was also featured in an episode of the Chinese drama series Blossoms Shanghai.

Notes and References

1. News: Seoul Olympics gave powerful impetus to great changes in South Korea. Park Moo-jong. July 14, 2010. The Korea Times. March 3, 2015.
2. Web site: Giorgio Moroder. www.redbullmusicacademy.com.
3. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 170.
4. Top 3 in Europe. Music & Media. 5. 38. 31. 17 September 1988.
5. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 5. 41. 26. 8 October 1988.
6. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin – 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021. 2021. Koreana. 135. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. 29 June 2022. fi.
7. Top 3 in Europe. Music & Media. 5. 43. 26. 22 October 1988.
8. 1988 Year End Eurocharts: Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 6. 52/1. 30. 1 January 1989.
9. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988. de. 17 December 2023.
10. Web site: Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1988. GfK Entertainment. de. 17 December 2023.
11. Web site: 《一呼百應》疲勞轟炸. 2 March 2020 . https://archive.today/20230109235618/https://michaelchu-73917.medium.com/%E4%B8%80%E5%91%BC%E7%99%BE%E6%87%89-%E7%96%B2%E5%8B%9E%E8%BD%9F%E7%82%B8-3bbb7ec5ce7d . 2023-01-09.
12. Web site: (싱글) 손에 손잡고. MelOn. August 15, 2016. Korean. https://web.archive.org/web/20170811012509/https://www.melon.com/album/detail.htm?albumId=2704322. 2017-08-11.