The song is catchy, the music video is interesting and funny (and full of hot girls to boot,) and the dance is distinctive. Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at bottom, Gangnam Style is popular because of the same reasons why any pop music is popular. Having said that, what made Gangnam Style so popular? It is probably the most un-hip mobile party in the world - which fits perfectly with Gangnam Style's aesthetics.) By the way, those old Korean folks dance about as well as your parents. To release their urges to shake it, they would charter these buses with total strangers and have a mobile dancing session. The "party" bus is usually for older Korean men and women, who would like to dance away from the public view. (Aside: If you immediately understood the relevance of the bus with a disco ball, you have a black belt in Korean culture. But those moments quickly dissolve into another round of ridiculous dancing. A couple of times, PSY does encounter what might be fairly close to a Gangnam-type occasion - a man driving a fancy car (a cameo appearance by the legendary comedian Yoo Jae-seok,) and a beautiful woman (cameo by Hyuna from the girl group 4Minute) flirting. He appears in decidedly un-Gangnam areas: children's playground, on a paddle boat, riverside park, a bus with a disco ball, etc. He is wearing a ridiculous suit and dances a ridiculous dance. But of course, what PSY ends up doing in the music video is a parody of such image. So when PSY speaks of "Gangnam Style," he means to invoke the trendy, stylish image. The Miami Beach comparison is too dumb to address.) The old money of the kind that occupies the Upper East Side of New York is found in Yeonhee-dong of Seoul, north of the river. Gangnam is not Upper East Side either, since Gangnam is decidedly nouveau riche. Nor is it Wall Street - that would be Gwanghwamun / City Hall area, north of the river, where all the major banks have their headquarters. Gangnam is obviously not a Silicon Valley, since there is no huge concentration of tech companies in Gangnam. (Aside: This "no equivalent in U.S." trope is really overused, and in this instance, the comparison is clearly hyperbolic and incorrect. It has celebrities, style, money, and nice homes and good schools just behind those flashing lights.
equivalent of Gangnam is quite easy: it's West Hollywood / Beverly Hills. Hills, Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and Miami Beach all rolled into one" according to the Wall Street Journal (quoting this clueless blogger.) Finding the U.S.
TheĬlosest approximation would be Silicon Valley, Wall Street, Beverly And it has been a little bit funny to see his old home described breathlessly as some place that "has no real equivalent in the United States. The Korean was raised in Apgujeong, so he is the original Gangnam man. They are often celebrities or heirs of Korea's magnates. People who populate those areas are rich, stylish and beautiful, carrying all the appropriate status symbols like imported cars and fancy handbags. It is an area with posh malls, expensive dining and swanky clubs. The area generally encompasses the northern half of (confusing name alert) Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, covering neighborhoods like Apgujeong, Sinsa and (confusing name alert, again) Gangnam.
First, what exactly is "Gangnam Style"? "Gangnam" literally means "south of the river." But generally, Gangnam refers to a specific area in Seoul located south of the Han River that bisects the city. (The latest one: from the Ohio University marching band.) Questions about Gangnam Style just kept coming also, even though the Korean has been slower with blog updates. Gangnam Style just kept coming on - 273 million views and counting, appearances on network televisions shows, continuous climb up the charts and numerous homages to the original.