[5] Reportedly, the song derives from a legend of a man from Changsha (now in the Haeri region of Gochang County, South Jeolla Province)[6] who departed for military service and did not return for a long time, so his wife climbed Seonunsan to watch for him, and composed and sang the song.
[7] Another version of the legend say that the man was a peddler who went out to sell his wares and did not return, so his wife climbed the cliff and sang a prayer to the moon that it would light her husband's path back home.
Lee Chang-guy wrote:"Jeongeupsa," the only surviving gayo (poetic song) from the Baekje period, starts with the line, "Oh, moon, up so high in the sky."
To commemorate this song, the municipal orchestra of Jeongeup city, in North Jeolla Province, holds various traditional Korean music performances every month around the time of the full moon.
Crossover vocal group Forestella used the poem on their second album, Mystique, in their song titled Dear Moon.