Gangnam Style in popular culture

"Gangnam Style" is a single released by South Korean singer Psy on July 15th 2012. It achieved widespread international recognition and became the most viewed YouTube video, becoming the first video to gain a billion views on December 21, 2012. "Gangnam Style"'s unprecedented worldwide popularity was acknowledged by YouTube, who called it a "massive" hit at a global level "unlike anything we've ever seen before" while Billboard noted that "Gangnam Style" was nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon. As a result, it has influenced worldwide popular culture in many aspects.
The earliest "Gangnam Style" flash mobs were held in Pasadena, California, and Sydney, Australia. On September 12, Times Square in Manhattan was filled with a flash mob dancing to the music of "Gangnam Style" during ABC's Good Morning America. Five days later, Psy appeared in a flash mob organized by the American entertainment TV show Extra in Los Angeles. The dress code was either "something comfortable" or "Psy-inspired clothing." A "Gangnam Style" flash mob in front of the Obelisco de Buenos Aires national monument in Argentina was shown on the national news programme Antes del Mediodía. In the Indian film Rangrezz, the song is an official parody of "Gangnam Style" featuring Jakky Bhagnani as Psy. All the scenes are from "Gangnam Style" video converted into Mumbai. In Thailand, officials from the Dan Sai municipality in Loei Province shot a video of people wearing masks and performing "Gangnam Style" during the Phi Ta Khon "ghost" festival. According to the Thai newspaper The Nation, villagers and spiritual leaders from Loei province have felt "uneasy" and also "greatly offended" about this "Gangnam Style" performance which tarnishes the image of a 400-year-old tradition.
"Gangnam Style" has also made its way into various sporting events:
In Geneva, Switzerland, about 300 people gathered at the International Monument to the Reformation for a parody of "Gangnam Style" organized by a local radio station. According to The Christian Post, "Gangnam Style" was parodied by Inri Cristo, a self-proclaimed reincarnation of Jesus Christ, to attract the public's attention. Another noteworthy parody is "Jerusalem Syndrome Gangnam Style", which is shot at the Old City of Jerusalem and includes important heritage sites such as Mahane Yehuda Market, Western Wall, Zion Square, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It also includes a special cameo appearance by the Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat. The Times of Israel described the parody as "a unique Jerusalem twist to the song". The Argentine TV series Graduados made another parody, danced by the Argentine-Korean actor Chang Kim Sung. Obama Gangnam Style! is a parody by Barack Obama impersonator Reggie Brown. The musical television series Glee covers the song in their season 4 episode "Thanksgiving" with Jenna Ushkowitz on lead vocals. The rapidly growing popularity and international recognition of "Gangnam Style" has spawned many user generated videos, some of them have received international media recognition, such as:
On October 3, 2012, "Gangnam Style" was mentioned during a U.S. State Department briefing when a reporter asked spokeswoman Victoria Nuland if she had heard about the song, to which Nuland replied: "No, but I bet you my daughter does. She loves Korean pop." She also told the international media that she planned to "dial it up" and watch the video.
A few weeks later Nuland described "Gangnam Style" as "fantastic" and added that both her daughter and her husband Robert Kagan "all love the Gangnam Style" and that she had mastered its dance moves by watching the video clip "for weeks and weeks."
On October 9, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, held a speech at the 2012 Conservative Party Conference, where he admitted that "Gangnam Style is very good". He talked about the vast variety of exports that originate from London, including television aerials which the Koreans use to watch "Gangnam Style". He also told the audience that he and the British Prime Minister David Cameron have danced "Gangnam Style".
On October 17, "Gangnam Style" was performed by George Christensen, a member of the Australian House of Representatives. During an interview with the French news agency AFP, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon revealed that he has watched "Gangnam Style" several times. He hailed the song as a "force for world peace" and added that "there are no languages required in the musical world. That is the power of music, that is the power of the heart. Through this promotion of arts we can better understand the culture and civilisations of other people. In this era of instability and intolerance we need to promote better understanding through the power of music."
In 2012, Congressman John Lewis from the U.S. House of Representatives danced "Gangnam Style" to promote voting.
"Gangnam Style" has been used by presidential candidates during elections. Ju-min Park of Reuters mentioned that a few of South Korea's normally staid presidential candidates are imitating Psy's moves in an appeal to voters.
In Chile, the dance was also used by students during massive protests across the country and the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, who was detained by Chinese authorities in 2011 for his political activism, danced "Gangnam Style" with a pair of handcuffs as a symbol of his arrest and uploaded a video titled "Grass Mud Horse Style" onto YouTube and other Chinese websites. According to the Associated Press, government authorities had removed the video from most websites the next day.
The Colorado Democratic Party celebrated U.S. President Barack Obama's victory at the 2012 U.S. presidential election by dancing "Gangnam Style" during the Denver Democratic watch party.
During his speech in front of the Parliament of Malaysia, the politician Bung Mokhtar Radin drew comparisons between the youth of his country and "Gangnam Style". He remarked "They should be like PSY and Gangnam Style. He, his styles and his group is very popular. Millions of people are watching his video clip, not like our youths…destroying our image of our country and our people."
In Bali, Indonesia, The Committee for Environmental Advocacy staged a protest against the building of a suspended highway connecting Ngurah Rai International Airport with the city by dancing "Gangnam Style". In the Philippines, students commemorating the 40th anniversary of the declaration of Martial law in the country danced "Gangnam Style" at Chino Roces Bridge during a protest against the former President Ferdinand Marcos' use of the military during his 14-year dictatorial rule.
The following political leaders have mentioned "Gangnam Style" on social media platforms or through speeches:
The following political leaders, Congressmen and Members of Parliament have performed the dance moves of "Gangnam Style" at various locations:
On August 16, 2012, Nelly Furtado performed the song at her concert in the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines. One of the main factors that has led to "Gangnam Style" receiving worldwide media attention is its popularity among notable celebrities. According to The Wall Street Journal, T-Pain was among the first to have "sent [the video] to the stratosphere" when he tweeted about it on July 29. It was then picked up by Neetzan Zimmerman from the social blog Gawker, who asked "Did this underground Hip Hop artist from South Korea just release the Best Music Video of the Year?" on July 30.
The English actor Peter Serafinowicz called it "one of the best music videos ever made". while the German model Heidi Klum, who performed "Gangnam Style" at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards, revealed that her children have been obsessed with the song and that she has been holding "Gangnam dance parties" with them.<
In Thailand, two local gangs provoked each other by dancing "Gangnam Style", eventually leading to a gun fight with more than 50 rounds fired.
During a presentation of the beauty pageant Miss Earth 2012, some of the contestants including Miss Philippines, Miss Czech Republic, Miss Brazil and Miss Panama danced "Gangnam Style". The controversial Dutch artist Tinkebell danced "Gangnam Style" to promote a newly released nude calendar.
In 2018, BBC News wrote that K-pop such as Gangnam Style had caused an increase in the number of people choosing to learn Korean. [1]