Earlier this week, international sensation Psy debuted his latest release, "Hangover," featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg (er... Lion) on his oft-visited YouTube channel. Responses to the video have been mixed. Some believe the song is just as catchy as his "Gangnam Style," a viral hit that has received over 2 billion views to date. Still others have complained, slamming the video for its incessant product placement and Snoop Dogg's ever-growing tendency to sell out. Either way, "Hangover" is entertaining and paints a rather accurate portrait of Korea's intense drinking culture and famous nightlife (sans all the twerking in gold booty shorts). For those less accustomed to Korean ways, read on to better understand what exactly the duo are doing in the five minute video.
I’m all about the music. I am up for any concert, just ask. With only a few days left before I leave (tear tear), lately I’ve been reminicing about all I’ve managed to experience while teaching and living in Korea (Are you ready?). I am amazed at how much I have done in such a short amount of time, especially when I think about all the concerts I’ve attended. It seems like ages ago, but at this time last year I was preparing to witness Lady Gaga’s first and very controvercial world tour stop in Seoul.
Gangnam Style is about the silliness of South Korea’s nouveau riche; Gentleman is (more or less) about the silliness of assholes.
This is the best of KPOP: incredibly simple, incredibly fast, incredibly repetitive, incredibly catchy. All South Korea will be playing this song from every storefront and every television and every smartphone around the clock for the next six months, long after the rest of the world has lost interest; nonetheless, Psy is no one-hit wonder.
Is PSY’s new video promoting the art of being obnoxious or a piece of clever commentary decrying how people treat each other? Or, is just PSY doing what he’s always done –pushing society’s buttons as we pay to watch him do it? Either way, a billion hits, here he comes.
Psy (of Gangnam Style fame) is EVERYWHERE in South Korea. Advertisements on television and over the loudspeaker at the grocery store. His face is printed on my fun socks. I even saw his own brand of cologne the other day!
My kids make their own weird parodies of his popular song. For example, little Sarah and Amy enjoyed singing 오빠 방구 스타일 (brother fart style) for several minutes the other day. Oh, Korea.
Note: This is the original story that broke the whole PSY anti-American scandal wide-open. Was wild to watch it start from my little musings over on Haps to eventually being cited by everyone from the New York Times to Time Magazine to ABC news.
“Gangnam Style” has made PSY a global household name with millions of adoring fans. According to recent English translations of his performances in 2002 and 2004, PSY participated in several high profile anti-American military protests on the peninsula that might anger some, while winning over others.
