"Korea has not had a long history of nuanced satire," Adrian Hong, a Korean-American consultant whose wide travels make him an oft-quoted observer of Korean issues, said of South Korea's pop culture. That message would be awfully mild by American standards - this is no "Born in the U.S.A." - but South Korea is a very different place, and it's a big deal that even this gentle social satire is breaking records on Korean pop charts long dominated by cotton candy. But 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. That alone makes it practically operatic compared to most K-Pop. Tune into "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m.I certainly didn't, beyond the basics: Gangnam is a tony Seoul neighborhood, and Park's "Gangnam Style" video lampoons its self-importance and ostentatious wealth, with Psy playing a clownish caricature of a Gangnam man. Video has been tweeted over 250,000 times. Katy Perry, Josh GrobinĪnd T-Pain have all tweeted about it. Style" during her concert in Manila last month. Oregon Duck, the University of Oregon's mascot.Īnd celebrities have caught on. Have led to numerous imitation videos, including one featuring the In the wake of "Gangnam Style" gone viral, Psy's outrageous dance moves Taylor Swift's "We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together," Justinīeiber's "As Long As You Love Me," and Katy Perry's "Wide Awake." According to the Wall Street Journal, it's the first time a Korean artist has topped that category. It is also currently the number-one music video on iTunes, beating out In July - more than Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" or Nicki Minaj's Of this writing, it had more than 118 million views since being posted "Gangnam Style" is the most popular music video on YouTube this week. "Gangnam Style," a song sung almost entirely in Korean, has helped bring K-pop (Korean-pop) has been around the music block for a while, but Jason oppa! Paul hyung! Mary nuna! John a-jo-ssi!). Younger one must refer to the older one using a title, or just asĬommonly, by using a name followed by an appropriate title (for example, Mere one-year difference matters especially among students and the Koreans extend this age etiquette toĪll spheres of relationships in which any age difference exists. This ageĮtiquette shouldn't sound strange to people of western culture either,įor even westerners, in general, think it is rude for a child to call Older people because older people, in general, possess more lifeĮxperiences and thus more wisdom than younger people do. People slightly older than they are is that Koereans are heavily The reason Koreans use titles instead of names even when talking to To call out to or talk to their real older sister or a female slightly Than they are and likewise use the title "nuna" (literally older sister) To or talk to either their real older brother or a male slightly older
Similarly use the title "hyung" (literally older brother) to call out
#OPPA GANGNAM STYLE MEANING FULL#
Style," and Gangnam is the richest district in Korea full of expensiveĬondos many of which are well over US $2 million dollars.Īlso, just in case some of you are curious, as for titles boys use, boys Is." So "Oppan Gangnam style" means "(girls!) Older brother is Gangnam As for what theĭifference between "oppa" and "oppan" is, "oppan" simply means "oppa Girls-especially by those they find attractive. "Oppa" conveys a sense of warmįriendship, so all Korean guys love to be called "oppa" by younger Use, the older male friend does not necessarily have to be herīoyfriend, although he can be. "a-jo-ssi," literally uncle, would be more appropriate).
(not older than, very roughly, 10 years, in which case the title
Girl when she calls out to or talks to either (1) her real olderīrother in her family, or (2) a male friend slightly older than she is This title, "oppa," can be used only by a
The word "oppa" (literally older brother) is an informal title like Here is the meaning of "Oppan Gangnam style" once and for all: