Tag: Gangnam Style

Psy’s 2012 song Gangnam Style continues to be one of the top videos of all-time on Youtube:

“Gangnam Style,” a 2012 global sensation by South Korean singer-rapper Psy, reached another milestone Saturday as the song’s popularity has continued for more than a decade.

The music video for the song exceeded 5 billion views on YouTube.

Unveiled in July 2012, the main track from Psy’s sixth full-length album became a global sensation as its comical music video and the singer’s trademark horse dance went viral.

The song made him the first K-pop act to rise to No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 main singles chart. Psy spent a total of seven weeks in the position.

Its music video became the first video to exceed YouTube’s view limit when it surpassed 2 billion views in May 2014, prompting the service to upgrade its counter. The video later surpassed 3 billion in November 2017 and 4 billion in March 2021.

Korea Herald

Even though Gangnam Style hit 5 billion views it still has not cracked Youtube’s Top 10 Videos; it actually ranks #11 right now. If you can believe it the number one video on Youtube is the Baby Shark Dance with over 13 billion views!

This reads like a story you would read on a news satire site, but it is actually happening in South Korea:

Gyms in the capital area may need a new instrument in the fight against COVID-19 — a metronome.

As of Monday, the government has banned gyms in the greater Seoul area from playing music faster than 120 beats per minute (bpm) during group exercises.

That’s to prevent people from breathing heavily and accidentally getting saliva on each other — an extra precaution amid a record-breaking surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This looks like quite a concert to celebrate the ROK military’s 70th anniversary:

The South Korean military traded ballistic missiles for glowsticks and peace talk as K-pop stars helped celebrate the country’s 70th Armed Forces Day.

A ceremony Monday at the Korean War Memorial just south of the U.S. military’s Yongsan Garrison in Seoul marked the anniversary of South Korean forces crossing the 38th parallel during the 1950-53 conflict.

The event stood in stark contrast to last year’s ceremony, during which South Korean leaders spoke of nuclear deterrence and unveiled the Hyunmoo-2C — a ballistic missile with the range to hit anything in North Korea.

“Today, I am overwhelmed with excitement as I am able to discuss an era of peace,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said at the ceremony, according to a translation of his remarks. “Now is the time for our military to stand at the forefront of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he added. “Peace through strength is the mission of our armed forces.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if this statue does become an iconic symbol for Gangnam:

The signature horse-riding dance move by South Korean rap sensation Psy will be made into a landmark in front of a large shopping complex in southern Seoul, the local district office said Friday.

The sculpture will consist of two fists positioned in the wrist movement of the dance routine from the 2012 music video for the hit “Gangnam Style,” according to the Gangnam District Office. From above, it will look like two hands wrapping around the Earth.

The office plans to place the sculpture near the COEX shopping and exhibition center before the end of the year, aiming to build a landmark symbolic of the area, such as London’s Piccadilly Circus and Chicago’s Cloud Gate.

It will be designed by Hwang Man-seok, an artist belonging to the Visual Information Design Association of Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.