"Gangnam Style" Explained

Since I have had this song stuck in my head most of today, I thought it would be a good time to finally explain what this South Korean piece of pop culture that made it across the world is all about.

If you do not already know, "Gangnam Style" is a song by Psy that is extremely catchy and comes with a new dance move where you pretend to be a cowboy.  However popular it became in the US, it is much more popular here.  You hear it in stores and on tv all the time, and every single child knows how to do the dance.

First of all, its pronounced "gahng-nahm" with the "a" from "father."  It has nothing whatsoever to do with gangs.  "Gangnam" or "Kangnam" is a neighborhood in Seoul where rich people live and work.  Its known for having lots of high-end expensive stores.  The name actually literally means "river south" or "south of the river" since it is located south of the Han River.  I have a Korean friend who told me that you know when you are in Gangnam because all the women look the same.  Apparently when you are rich you always get "the one most beautiful" kind of plastic surgery. 

 The actual content of the song is pretty basic.  Its a guy singing about what kind of girl (yo-jah) he likes and what kind of guy (nam-jah) he is.  There isn't anything bad or profane in it, and the chorus "oppan Gangnam style" just refers to himself (oppa = literally older brother, but usually its what girls call any guy older than her) acting like a person who lives in Gangnam (i.e. professional during the day and partying at night)

Maybe I should also explain "style."  This is a konglish (Korean + English) word that Koreans use to describe more than just a person's clothes.  It can also be a person's attitude or personality.  For example, if you met someone you would like to date instead of "they're my type" you would say "they're my style."

Gangnam Style is one of the better k-pop (Korean pop) songs that exists.  Riley and I aren't a big fan of most k-pop because to us it all sounds the same.  Its usually a group of girls or guys in weird outfits singing and dancing to a song about a girl or guy with random English phrases thrown in, like "shiny boy" or "I'm yours nobody." 

We do like Gangnam Style, though, and even though the craze is mostly over, I hope you now understand what its all about.