A Short 'Psy' Primer

Allow me to bring you up to speed.  

This is Psy:

Psy is a Korean pop star.  On July 15th, Psy released a song called Gangnam Style.  Gangnam is the name of a fashionable/trendsetting district in Seoul.  Psy is hilarious.  The Gangnam Style video is also hilarious.  It currently has almost 50 million views on YouTube.  

Here is the English translation of the song lyrics:

A girl who is warm and humanly(?) during the day

A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee

A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes

A girl with that kind of twist 

I’m a guy

A guy who is as warm as you during the day

A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down

A guy whose heart bursts when night comes

That kind of guy 

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Now let’s go until the end 

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh 

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays

A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes

A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all

A sensable girl like that 

I’m a guy

A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays

A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes

A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles

That kind of guy 

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Now let’s go until the end 

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh 

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby

I’m a man who knows a thing or two

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby

I’m a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I’m saying 

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

Here is a parody video called Hongdae Style.  Hongdae is short for Hongik Daehakgyo which is another part of Seoul.



Here is a short spoof using characters from the popular Valve game Team Fortress 2.



Here is a heavy metal remix.



And of course, the obligatory Dubstep remix.



For some real insight into Psy, check out this opinion piece from The Korea Times.  And to travel further down the rabbit hole of weird, related videos, head over to Know Your Meme.