Graphic made by: Alyssa Martinez
Students are dancing and donning STUCO T-shirts in the aftermath of the first RUSH meeting. Suddenly, a familiar sound fills the cafeteria as people begin to gallop on invisible horses. As an icebreaker, Gangnam Style has made its way to Kerr.
The July 15 release of “Gangnam Style” introduced people worldwide to the satirical work of Korean singer Park Jae-sang, better known as Psy.
As of now, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” is the highest viewed K-POP music video on YouTube with over 350 million views, and was currently ranked #1 on iTunes in 18 different countries. Psy is the second Korean to ever rank among the US Billboard, the first being the Wonder Girls.
The captivating electronica tune meshed with Psy’s rhythmic rapping either entrances or repulses viewers. The video begins on a sunny day when a man is slumped against a beach chair, legs crossed, hand clutching a glass of soda, lethargically rolling his head left and right. He passionately sings “Oppan Gangnam style” and the camera pans in to him strutting in a tuxedo with dapper sunglasses and hair gelled back.
Like Psy said, “The mindset is: ‘Dress classy and dance cheesy,'”
Junior Tina Mai liked the video.
“It’s addictive – weird, but funny. It makes me smile, and I like the dance,” she said.
However, junior Bryan Nguyen doesn’t want Psy to be the go-to person for K-POP.
“I’m not saying that I don’t want him to become famous,” he said. “I’m just saying that people are really critical nowadays and because of Psy, people might get the wrong impression of K-POP ‘cause that’s not what K-POP is all about. And it’s not how it sounds like too, but because of his image and nationality it might give a wrong, misguided image of Koreans.”
Meanwhile, sophomore Rochelle Pham feels confident that “Gangnam Style” will attract more people to K-POP.
“[Gangnam Style] has been a worldwide hit,” she said. “People that don’t like K-POP know about it. People that don’t know K-POP know about it. And maybe… they’ll explore and find more amazing K-POP. You can basically go up to anyone and ask about K-POP, and if they don’t know, we can mention ‘Gangnam Style.’”
