The Satire of Psy

Slender singing stars and slick dance moves are the common currency of K-pop, which has propelled Korean music to ever more far flung corners of the globe.

Advertisement

But a somewhat plump songman named PSY is changing all of that with sharp lyrics that poke fun at Korean society and cheeky videos that show he's not afraid to turn his satirical observations on himself.

His music was little known outside Korea -- until recently,.. when the video for his song "Gangnam Style" went viral on the Web and turned him into an instant superstar.

The song has been Number-1 on the country's major music charts for 4 consecutive weeks, according to the website iChart, and has had more than 13 million hits on YouTube.

In the iTunes store, "Gangnam Style" has topped the Finnish list, come in third in New Zealand, fourth in Denmark and seventh in the United States.

The video features PSY posing in lush locations around the wealthy district for which the song is named and dancing a galloping jig while he tries to convince the women in the video that he is a perfect match for them becuase he has that "Gangnam style".

But as with his previous songs, there's more substance to "Gangnam Style" than it may seem. The song takes aim at the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots, which is especially acute in the Gangnam area. It's a common theme for PSY.

His video for " Champion " from 2002 suggests that even though we are divided by gender, race and class, we can unite and all be champions. It's this approach that has won the hearts and minds of fans in Korea -- and may soon turn K-pop on its head.

Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.

Reporter : youchaie@arirang.co.kr