When I asked a security guy at LAX where the security gate was he busted out with, āOppa Gangnam Styleā. I got private messages, Tweets and Facebook comments asking about Gangnam Style on multiple occasions. One girl even told me that she was happy that she knew someone from the country of Gangnam Style. Psy was on an American morning show when I was in America, he got an MTV award in Frankfurt when I was in Frankfurt, and obviously he is still very popular here in Korea at the moment.
I met Seth Kugel of Frugal Traveler from the New York TimesĀ in Gangnam, to accompany him on his quest to discover what Psyās Gangnam is all about. What is Gangnam Style? I had an opportunity to see him working, interviewing people in a cafĆ©. He also asked me a few questions, and I think itās time to share my thoughts.
How do I feel about the Gangnam Style phenomenon?
Aside from the song, I was happy to see him succeed. Psy was a successful singer/ dancer for a long time, but he was not one of the typical skinny and attractive Koreans. But he set himself apart, writing his own songs, and often using naughty slang and provocative dance moves. Somehow he still won the hearts of many fans. I think he uses humor, instead of intimidation to be so powerful.
He was involved with a fraud charge several years ago relating to a military issue. Avoiding military service is a huge problem in Korean society. Celebrities do everything they can to avoid the two years of their lives, and Psy got caught trying to evade his duty. He lost all of his credibility overnight. But he bounced back after his service. And obviously Gangnam Style was his biggest break. I was quite happy to see that he bounced back from his mistake. He is a national hero. Even if Iām not a fan of the song and the dance (Iām sorry but I canāt stand it), I was happy to see that now more people know about Korea.
What is Gangnam?
Seth asked me to think of a few words that can describe Gangnam. These were my words:
Pretentious
Overrated
Underrated
Hectic
I donāt want to live in Seoul. Not only because I donāt like big cities, but also because I donāt like constantly witnessing the changing tides of arbitrary Seoul trends. There are so many wannabeās in this city. And frankly, itās getting worse. Itās sad to see individuals loosing their identities. People want to follow the mainstream of the world ā particularly American cultureārather than celebrate the culture we already have. They fix their nose and eyes, bleach their skin, and dye their hair to look more Caucasian.
Then, thereās the cafĆ© culture. Even though we donāt grow coffee, people are madly in love with cafes because they are trendy. But people are spending money on the atmosphere, not the coffee. A small cup of coffee here is 5,000 won (about $5). For them, it doesnāt really matter if the coffee is high quality or a fair-trade product. Itās just coffee. When you go to one of the popular cafes in Gangnam, youāll see well-dressed people. Their destination of the day is actually just a cafĆ©. They literally got dressed up, and drove into Gangnam to sit in a cafe for a few hours. They like to be seen in a trendy place. To me, thatās pretentious. For that reason, Gangnam is highly overrated. It is considered ātheā place to go in Seoul, but I never recommend it to my friends who travel Korea. If you like to party, maybe itās a good place to go. But because of the negative image, the more interesting aspects of Gangnam get overlooked. So, I also say itās underrated. I donāt hangout in Gangnam, but I know it is a very old part of the city. There are many local restaurants with good food, reasonable prices, and historic places here and there. A lot of long-distance buses originate from here, and some of the old Buddhist temples are quite beautiful. And because everyone drives even in the smallest street, the place is always hectic.
What do I think about the song āGangnam Styleā?
Many people have asked me what heās saying in the song. I think people, both who can and canāt understand the lyrics, mainly like this song because of the rhythm and dance, not because of highly poetic and moving lyrics. Plain and simple, itās like coffee: addictive. Koreans love the lyrics because Psy sings about the enchanting aspects of Gangnam style while not so subtly making fun of them at the same time. Itās common to have hate-and-love relationship with Gangnam. Itās expensive, but people have to go because itās the popular area to hang out. Itās hectic but people have to go to buy trendy items. Itās far but people have to go to meet other certain people. Everything Psy says in his song is true, and thatās the reason I donāt hang out there.Ā Not that he is saying much about Gangnam (because there are not much lyrics except āOppa Gangnam styleā).
Photo credit: Psy Official Facebook Page
Thanks Seth for including me on his Gangnam project! Can’t wait to read it on Frugal Traveler.
Great post Juno! I like hearing your perspective on Psy and the Gangnam area. His song certainly has made me aware of a destination in Korean I had never heard of before– and that has to be a good thing for tourism š Very cool that you met the Frugal Traveler. Did he find you on Twitter? Let us know when he writes about you!
I like that he became like an ambassador of Korea! What a a fun person to do the job. š Seth emailed me when he was coming to Seoul. Good to see him working in real life!
I like Gangnam Style mostly because it’s good to see something from a foreign country become popular in the US. Maybe it’s just a funny song to most it has sparked the curiosity of some to learn a little bit about Korea. I don’t know what the lyrics mean but I can tell it’s sarcastic about pretentious people and I like that too.
I agree on that. It’s good to see something foreign takes the world, not the US ones. It is highly Korean-style lyric, but the rhythm clearly is global.
See, this post just taught me that Gangnam is an area in Seoul. Funny thing is that I’ve been there, but didn’t remember…
For me, Gangnam is not so much a special place. Maybe I’m from Gangbuk? (North of the river)
I was very envious when I read your tweets that you met Seth! It’s even more awesome than meeting Psy, in my books. š
I had a lot of fun, watching how the New York Times columnist worked!
Oh man, I love listening to older people discussing this song. It is even downright embarrassing when they don’t realize that when we say “Korea” we mean South. It think it has been a wonderful movement in the fact that we are really becoming a connected world. If a song in Korean can top the charts – what next?! It is super exciting!
Great post as you say it’s the catchy tune and dance that made it famous but I think it’s nice that it became so popular and didn’t just put Psy but also korea on the map.
As a foreigner who lived in Yeoksam/Gangnam area for 3 years I have fond memories of it. It’s not my favourite area of Seoul to party in – that would be Jongno – but t is what it is. Pretensions? Of course it is. Overrated? Possibly, depending on who you ask. But isn’t there similiar areas in most world cities? As a Korean I feel you should be, and regardless of your thoughts on the area, be embracing the worldwide positive exposure Psy has given the area, & Korea in general, and not lambasting it.
I wasn’t lambasting Psy or the culture. I clearly am happy for all the success he made all over the world, and glad to see my country’s name is out there more (just like I mentioned in the post). Just because he is doing a good job, the character of the area becomes untrue. I was describing and revealing my thoughts as a person who’s known this country for most of my life. And I don’t have to feel proud just because one person from my country become famous. Even if I do feel proud, I know I don’t have to.
Having travelled through Asia so much the past couple of years, I see the huge popularity of Korean artists, especially in places like Bangkok. I think it was just a matter of time before one of them hit it big time. Great article!
Psy is really different than other K-Pop stars, and I was more happy about that! š Korea is more than pretty boys and skinny girls! š
So cool that you were interviewed by Seth! I’ve met him at some travel events and was kind of travel-world starstruck. And I’ve got to admit… I love the song š
Seth would be happy to hear that. š He is an inspiring person for sure.
I’ve met Hugh Jackman, too, and am happy to report he was one of the nicer celebrities I interviewed š
YOU DID? I’m so jealous! That’s what everyone said, Hugh Jackman is the nicest person in the business. I don’t doubt that. Lucky you!
I love it! Thanks for reminding us that there’s a real neighborhood behind the hit song.
Gangnam is an old neighbourhood, and it is worth exploring. Hope more people know that ! š
We are so out of touch when it comes to pop culture nowadays. When we were back in Canada my sister-in-law introduced us to this “song” and she was quite shocked I had not heard of it as it had a gazillion hits on YouTube. Someone had told me that the song was basically a whole mockery of American culture, I have no idea what to believe, but your interpretation seems best.
Regardless after hearing it for that first time I’m quite happy I live the sheltered life of a travel blogger I do lead :). The unfortunate part is that now I can’t stop hearing this everywhere I go. Cool that you got to meet up with Seth.
We are in Thailand right now and you CANNOT escape this song at all.
There are t-shirts, toys, posters and all the markets have 9-10 stalls blasting this song. š
It’s great that he was able to become successful off of it……..can’t wait till the song goes away though Hahah