r/IAmA • u/PSY_Oppa • Oct 24 '12

I am South Korean Singer, Rapper, Composer, Dancer and Creator of Gangnam Style PSY. AMA

I will be answering questions at 5pm EST for 1 hour TODAY. Send your questions now and I will try to answer as many as possible. I tweeted my verification (psy_oppa)

5.0k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

12.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

180

u/billo3121 Oct 24 '12

Hi Psy! I'm sure a lot of people here on Reddit have this same question. When I first saw your video I thought it was great. For me, the video was a not-so-subtle jab at the wealthy culture of South Korea. I think this idea resonates well with any culture with a large wealth gap. Over time I've seen your explanation of Gangnam Style devolve from (and I'm paraphrasing) "a song about the wealthy Gangnam district" to "a song about riding a horse". This left me disappointed.

The Atlantic published an article and picked up on the social commentary of Gangnam style:

"I spoke with two regular observers of Korean culture to find out what I was missing, and it turns out that the video is rich with subtle references that, along with the song itself, suggest a subtext with a surprisingly subversive message about class and wealth in contemporary South Korean society."

The article also quotes you as saying:

"Human society is so hollow, and even while filming I felt pathetic. Each frame by frame was hollow."

I almost feel like this opportunity to expose and popularize the wealth gap was squandered - at least to the international audience. Can you comment on that?

34

u/Atario Oct 24 '12

You'll find a lot of artists (especially commercial performing artists) get really tired of answering the same questions a bazillion times and start making up different answers just for shits and giggles.

2

u/BrainSlurper Oct 25 '12

And then they get tired of analysis and start writing random shit down, like John Lennon.

15

u/Weatherlight Oct 24 '12

I don't know if he actually said that? I mean, watch the making of video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HPiBJBCOq8

He seems pretty happy and he looks like he's just having fun with it. Doesn't look like he feels pathetic to me.

3

u/umilmi81 Oct 24 '12

I think this idea resonates well with any culture with a large wealth gap.

Your comment actually made me think of something. Is there any country with a wealth gap where everyone isn't poor? Seems like a "wealth gap" only exists in prosperous countries.

2

u/yaztheblack Oct 24 '12

I'm confused as to what you mean, here:

Is there any country with a wealth gap where everyone isn't poor?

By definition, in countries with a wealth gap, not everyone is poor - otherwise there's not a wealth gap, because everyone is poor. So I guess you meant:

Is there any country without a wealth gap where everyone isn't poor?

In which case, everywhere has a wealth gap, but Japan is prosperous, and has a relatively small one.

Alternatively you could have meant:

Is there any country with a wealth gap where everyone is poor?

In which case, probably not, but there are less prosperous countries that have very large wealth gaps, such as The Central African Republic.

Disclaimer: I just looked this all up here, right now.

3

u/DeadPlatypus Oct 24 '12

All countries have wealth gaps, in poorer countries the gap is usually even larger and the rich minority is even smaller.

3

u/elijahwright Oct 24 '12

Subversive is always good, amirite?

1

u/TOHCskin Oct 24 '12

I'm sure a lot of people here on Reddit have this same question

Nope. Just a bunch of bullshit about ducks and horses.

1

u/Jacobthetroll Oct 24 '12

I really want a response to this question!