The poem exists in several revision, the oldest probably written in 7th or 8th century Korea, during the late Goguryeo or the North–South States Period.
This early version is also known as the Ancient Song of the Sky Pacers (舊法步天歌, 구법보천가, Gubeop Bocheon'ga) for disambiguation.
In late Joseon era Korea (18th century) a revised version of the poem was composed, motivated by new knowledge on Chinese asterisms imported during the Qing dynasty (which was itself based on the knowledge of the southern sky acquired from European contact in the Ming period).
But there remained disagreement between the song and the star-charts used by the Royal Observatory (觀象監, 관상감, Gwansanggam).
This New Song was edited by middle-class professional astronomer Yi Jun-yang (李俊養, 이준양), and corrected by nobleman Nam Byeong-gil.