Misconceptions about this popular Kpop song

By Sophia Chan

AAAAAY, SEXY LADY! This upbeat Kpop (Korean Pop) song, known as “Oppa Gangnam Style,” has been sweeping the nation with PSY, a prominent pop singer in Korea, making appearances on Ellen and the Video Music Awards. Fans across the nation have created flash mobs, reaction videos, and dance tutorials to this catchy song. However, what most don’t realize is the truth behind the hype.

PSY was welcomed to The Ellen Degeneres Show, but was treated very poorly. Although he was greeted with excited applause, he had to ask to introduce himself, which is almost an insult considering Ellen has always introduced her guests when they come onstage. Britney Spears, who was invited to the show, looked indifferent, almost bored, while dancing beside PSY.

What most people don’t realized is PSY has been working in the Kpop industry for almost ten years and is actually extremely talented in his use of satire to mock society’s guidelines. According to the Chronicle Herald, PSY is said to have broken Kpop star standards for being skinny, handsome, etc. “I’m not like [a] normal entertainer [when it comes to visuals],” he said. PSY is also known to create his own lyrics, his own choreography, and his own music video ideas, all of which are highly unusual for the Kpop industry.

The song that recently went viral often goes unexplained and is regarded as a silly song. PSY actually uses the songs and the “horse dance” to mock the rich people who live in the Gangnam District of Korea, which is compared to Beverly Hills, California. The lyrics say that the rich are noble in the daytime but wild at night, scorning the rich who change personalities so quickly.

But all people just seem to think is that, according to German report Jan Augustiny, “PSY looks like Kim Jung-Il,” completely dismissing the singer’s deep meanings in his songs.