Decoding the Gangnam style K-Pop

The Gangnam lifestyle was featured in Psys hit single Gangnam Style It became first KPop title to top the UK Official Singles Chart Top 40 in 2012 The video represents posh lifestyle in a satirical manner A little plump even Psy himself doesnt look like the stereotypical suave rich man

Harvinder Khetal

Updated At : 06:33 AM Mar 13, 2016 IST

As I landed in South Korea last week, it seemed as if I was in the land of many familiar companies, brands and styles. Most of us own some or the other product made in Korea. My brother has been happily driving a Hyundai for some years. My sister is a proud owner of a Samsung smartphone. Every second home boasts of an LG appliance, a TV, fridge or AC. My cousins cannot resist the dance floor whenever the DJ plays the 'Gangnam Style' number. And, the little ones even match the 'horse-riding' steps, a la the star singer-performer Psy. The younger lot also talks about the Korean Wave or K-Pop as if it was straight out of our backyard, like our very own bhangra rap. But being from the older generation, I was not so clued in with the K-pop culture.

My aha moment came when our tourist guide explained the meaning of Gangnam and the phenomenon that Korean music and culture has become the world over in the past couple of decades. As we drove towards Seoul town from the Incheon International airport, we crossed the Han river. The Han divides Seoul into two: north and south. And, Gangnam is a locality in the southern part. Gangnam district is the wealthiest neighbourhood in South Korea. It is home to politicians, actors, major corporate headquarters and banking and financial industries. Gangnam is known as the Beverly Hills of South Korea because of the concentration of wealth.

Psy is the stage name of Park Jae-sang. He was born in 1977 in Gangnam in an affluent family. His father Park Won-Ho's semiconductor equipment manufacturing DI Corporation is listed on the Korea Exchange and his mother Kim Young-hee owns several restaurants in Gangnam. The Gangnam lifestyle was featured in Psy's worldwide hit single 'Gangnam Style.' It became the first K-Pop title to break into and top the UK Official Singles Chart Top 40 in 2012. Local Koreans believe that one of the reasons for the song's popularity is that the video represents the posh lifestyle in a satirical manner. A little plump, even Psy himself does not look like the stereotypical suave rich man.

You might think you know a thing or two about K-Pop if you've seen the 'Gangnam Style' video, but K-Pop is so much more than this one tune. Riding the Korean Wave are movies, TV dramas, books, theatre, art, literature and even cuisine. 'Hallyu' or the Korean Wave is the term widely used to refer to the global popularity of Korean entertainment and culture. When Korea entered into diplomatic relations with China in 1992, Korean TV dramas and pop music gained fame in Chinese-speaking communities, especially among the youngsters, before diffusing to Japan, Asia and the West. The Korean Wave craze has expanded to Korean traditional culture, food, literature and language, creating more and more enthusiasts. The publication in English of 'Please Look After Mom', a novel by Shin Kyung-sook, in the USA in 2011, is regarded as a sign of the Wave spreading to the literary world. The book was listed in Amazon's top 10 bestsellers and was promptly published in 30 countries in Asia, Europe and Australia.

The sweep of the culinary spread includes Delhi and Hyderabad where you can tickle your palate in Korean restaurants. I relished kimchi (preserved cabbage) and bibimbap (rice with vegetables and sauces) in Korea since I had apprehension of beef and dog meat, but their seafood is good. And, Koreans enjoy their clear alcohol, shoju.

Well, K-Pop's explosion of colour, crazy fashion and elaborate pyrotechnics looks set to light up the world, though it's still a long way from being considered mainstream in many countries.

Meanwhile, enjoy K-Pop by logging into the YouTube video of 'Gangnam Style', that is if you still haven't. And, if you like it, yours will one of the over 2.4 billion likes that it has today. As Korean pop spread like wildfire, conquering the world through the Internet, the Guinness World Records recognised in September, 2012 that Gangnam Style was the new world record holder for the most likes on YouTube. Interestingly, Psy is slated to star in a South Korean remake of the Hindi film 'ABCD: Anybody Can Dance', taking over the role of Vishnu (Prabhu Deva) in the original film.

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