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Literature Appliaction- Shiruo Zhang

There is no doubt that English phrases are commonly use in East Asian music. They tend to mix English lyrics as a transitional flow into their songs, especially in hip hop music. As author Phil Benson in “English and identity in East Asian popular music” (2013) mentions, it is could be a challenge of using a English transition flows, because they are “uneven, multidirectional and unstable, with no strong overall pattern emerging” (Benson, 2013). In this situation, evenly use English transnational flow in songs could be an obstacle for most East Asian singer, however, Psy as a native Korean male singer, has achieved commercial success of mixing Korean and English in his music and vast spreading worldwide.

By evaluating the numbers view and subscribes in comments section on the YouTube, Psy made a huge influence. For example, Gangnam Style has achieved over 30 billion views on YouTube, and the most unforgettable part within is this English phrase “Oppa Gangnam style” and followed by a transitional flow “Eh, sexy lady”. The repeated patterns of rhythm make this song impressive for audience worldwide. In addition, the success of this song is not just evaluating by the numbers of views, but also investigate how audiences are connected to this song with English transitional flows, by looking the comments sections. Benson believes the comments sections “create spaces in which the identity implications of language use can be negotiated across a virtual region” (2013). Subscribers define their identity by making comments using English, which implies the interactions between Psy as a native Korean and global audience, are accomplished.

In conclusion, Psy is successfully using the strategy of mixing the English transitional flow into his music, which reflects on the YouTube by great number of view and comments section.

Benson, Phil. “English and Identify in East Asia Popular Music.” Popular Music 32, no. 1 (2013):  23-33

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Video Analisys: Psy “Daddy” —-Shiruo Zhang

Signature theme form MV and memorable lyrics are two essential factors that makes a song circulate widely. In the music video Daddy by Psy, he creates an amusing theme that the son, the father and the grandfather are all having the same face of Psy, and the lyrics also are catchy. The style of this song is lively, music video is pleasant and the choreograph maintains the style of Psy, which always containing a sense of hummer. In general, this music video is creative, which implication a real-life phenomenon, using impressive English flows and all of these create the unique identify for Psy.

For the theme of Daddy, Psy role plays 3 generations of the son, the father and the grandfather with one unified purpose, is to become and maintain physical attractiveness to every female in the music video. By using photoshop, a just born baby has the identical face with Psy, in the three stages of Psy, female is attracted by his appearance, such as all of the little girl, include the teacher, in the kindergarten in Psy as a boy, the female dancer in Psy as young adult and the all the old ladies in Psy’s old ages. This implicates that it is a lifegoal of being physical attractiveness for male in our society, which the theme is clear established.

Furthermore, the lyrics of this song is unforgettable, because he uses the repeated rhetorical question in English. As an English transitional flow, “hey, where’d you get that body from?”, then followed by the refrain of “I got it from my daddy”. The purpose of using English flows is that “artists record in the languages of their overseas market and in some cases relocate to them (Benson 2013, 24)”. Also, using English lyrics in Daddy as the hook of the song which “includes a musical idea, often a short riff, passage or phrase, intended to catch the ear of listener” (Jin and Ryoo 2014, 124). This circulation allows English speaker audience to understand Psy’s music in certain context, also allows then to sing along with it.

The style of using English flows creates an identity for Psy. Like Gangnam style, hangover and daddy, they all share the common of using English phrase in the refrain parts and the same style of video. In his video, there are always exaggerated dance and colorful senses. The similarities are the factors to create the unique style of Psy. However, as. A native Korean singer, recording songs in Korea as a representative of Korean artist, also using English make him identified as an international star who spend years studying in United States.

In conclusion, the themes of Daddy are creative and having realist implications and the mixing lyrics of English in his songs could also makes him commercially success in certain extent. All of the factors contribute to Psy’s uniqueness as Korean singer.

Reference

Jin, Dal Yong and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The  Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014):113-131.

Benson, Phil. “English and Identify in East Asia Popular Music.” Popular Music 32, no. 1 (2013):  23-33

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Video Analysis: PSY “New Face” – Cherry Cheng

Psy’s official music video “New Face” in his album 4X2=8 was released in May 2018. This music video is narrative-based including a story, which is basically about Psy saw a girl, tried to draw her attention, and finally get that girl. Cooperating with Apink’s Son Naeun, Psy approached her in the video through playing different roles in the hotel. Through analyzing this video, it shows that how Psy gain popularity internationally in different aspects.

First of all, Psy used trot with a fast pace in the song which is a common genre of K-pop. He also mixed some Western genres and styles such as rock and Hip Hop. Cultural hybridization between Korean and Western was widely applied in this video. Hare and Baker mentioned that “culture hybridization has a cultural focus and emphasizes cultural interplay” (2017: 3). Apart from focusing on the Korean culture, Psy also utilized other cultures in the video. In one of the scenes, two girls wore Chinese cheongsams and danced with Psy in a Chinese restaurant. Psy also made noodles starting from making the dough with flour which was originated from China. The hybridization of Chinese culture and Korean song suggested the intention to expand the market to China or other parts of Asia.

Moreover, Psy usually has a simple and repeated dance movements with an easy melody. Epstein and Turnbull stated that “Memorable images from music videos and signature dances for songs become touchstones in Korean popular culture and circulate widely” (2014: 317). K-pop industry emphasizes on visual perception in music video. This can greatly attract foreign people even they do not know any Korean language at all. Psy’s hilarious dances in this video only have four simple steps and keep repeating throughout the entire song. This can let people easily remember and imitate the dance movements.

Furthermore, this music video was shot in a foreign city called Macau which is part of China. The main venue took place in the Venetian Macao hotel, and this video was filmed in different locations of the hotel including lobby, corridor, casino, swimming pool, the great hall, and the San Luca canal. They also went to the streets and restaurant in Macau for shooting. Psy danced with many people in these places. This definitely shows the ideas of controlling the space and dominating the city. This also implies that they want to expand their market to China.

In addition, many foreign girls with bikini joined the dance with Psy in the swimming pool. This suggested the concepts of sexual objectification. Lin and Rudolf mentioned that “Sexism…which largely stem from traditional stereotypes about gender roles” (2017: 29). They also stated that “women are more likely to be sexually objectified and held to stricter appearance standards” (Ibid., 30). Males have a high desire towards females, and the appearance of these girls with sexy bodies in the video can serve as a sexual pleasure for the viewers. On the other hand, Naeun appeared in the video whenever Psy fawned over her and expressed his feeling of heart pounding.

Lastly, some simple English lyrics were used repeatedly throughout the entire song. For example, Psy kept singing “new face, new face, new new new face” for couple times to emphasize that he never saw that girl before and it was his first time to meet her. Jin and Ryoo argued that “K-Pop singers appropriating English mixing of lyrics emphasize a similar rhythm, light sexuality, and Americanized tropes” (2014: 126). These repeated lyrics can allow the Western people to understand the basic ideas of the song even they do not know any Korean words.

In conclusion, Psy utilized the concepts of cultural hybridization to attract many people around the world. This proved the success of Psy being famous internationally through this music video “New Face”.

Bibliography

Hare, Sarah, and Andrea Baker. “Keepin’ It Real: Authenticity, Commercialization, and the Media in Korean Hip Hop.” SAGE Open (2017): 1-12.

Epstein, Stephen, and James Turnbull. “Girls’ Generation? Gender, (Dis)Empowerment, and K-pop.” In The Korean Popular Culture Reader, edited by Kyung Hyun Kim and Youngmin Choe. 314-336. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2014.

Lin, Xi, and Robert Rudolf. “Does K-pop Reinforce Gender Inequalities? Empirical Evidence from a New Data Set.” Asian Women 33, no. 4 (2017): 27-54.

Jin, Dal Yong, and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014): 113-131.

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Literature Application: Cultural Hybridization and English Mixing — Cherry Cheng

In the article, Dal Yong Jin and Woongjae Ryoo presented the ideas of K-pop hybridization through the usage of English mixing in the songs. Jin and Ryoo suggested that K-pop becomes a culture phenomenon “because of its rapid penetration in the global market and culture” (2014: 115). This concept also applied to Psy in different aspects.

Psy used an English name abbreviation instead of a Korean name when debuted, which is easier for people to recognize him. Also, almost all of his song names are in English. He widely used some simple English lyrics in the songs with repeated melody, which allows people to memorize and sing even they do not know Korean languages. For example, the lyric “mother-father-gentleman” in “Gentleman” has been repeated many times throughout the song. He also mixed the Western genres and styles such as Hip Hop and rap into the songs.

Jin and Ryoo stated that the application of English is because the entertainment companies want to “penetrate the Asian market, and eventually the Western market” (Ibid., 120). Psy cooperated with American artists such as Snoop Dogg in “Hangover”. He also appeared in American variety shows like the American Idol. He held concerts and attended award ceremony in America in 2012 too.

With the development of social media, K-pop artists use English to “target young generations who seek entertainment embedded in new media” (Ibid., 121). Psy became famous internationally because of his song “Gangnam Style” which was uploaded on YouTube. The social media connect to the world and make it accessible for the Western countries.

Cultural hybridization through English mixing plays an important role in K-pop industry. The success of Psy supported the ideas of what Jin and Ryoo said.

Bibliography

Jin, Dal Yong, and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014): 113-131.

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Video Analysis: Psy’s “LOVE” featuring TAEYANG

In the music video “LOVE” featuring TAEYANG, Psy tries to normalize the idea of individualism by writing lyrics relatable to the fans, while emphasizing the importance of caring and accepting. Due to his previous work in K-pop like “Gangnam Style”, Psy’s reputation as a comedic relief is undeniable and it has become difficult for fans to treat him seriously. This music video perfectly contradicts the notion of humor and shifts our attention towards empowerment and change, especially in a modern society where pessimism and hate are common. “LOVE” provides an alternative perspective of the artist where he has taken an active role in addressing social issues such as inequality and challenges the social traditions of marketing and producing K-pop music videos.

Hallyu began when Korean popular culture was exported internationally with the help of social media. According to Jung, social media such as YouTube is an internet-based application designed to facilitate the interaction of user-generated content on a transnational scale (2015, 73-76). Throughout the music video, a cast of female choreographers performed in front of a white background and Psy never appeared once in the video. Comparing to Psy’s other music videos, the rareness of not participating in the filming process and changing the focus to women shows an unexpected side of marketing. In addition, an English version of the lyrics and set choreography targeted an international audience who can easily learn the choreography, recreate it with a cover video, and organize flash mobs using user-generated social networking platforms (Jung 2015, 81-82). Psy as a producer enhanced the relationship with fandom by being inconsistent with the previous production process, as a result, fans would consume and react with either appreciation or dissatisfaction. It essentially created a reciprocal relationship between Psy and his fans, both the artist and the consumers “successfully transform themselves into equally important players in the global game of social networking” with the utilization of popular social media platforms (Jung 2015, 85).

Although the main attraction of the music video was the choreography, none of the dancers were portrayed as sexual objects that served the sexual pleasure of the viewer. Apart from the red short skirts which could elicit sexual behaviors and objectification, the fashion decision behind each dancer was considered conservative. In contrast to the sexual objectifying cases mentioned by Kistler and Moon, Psy’s music video didn’t “promote distorted sexual norms” that were dehumanizing towards women and there weren’t any signs of sexual coercion that would perpetuate traditional gender attitude (2009, 82). In fact, the choreography in “LOVE” demonstrated signs of empowerment with their powerful and up-beating dance routine. The strength of women in this music video certainly contradicts with the production style of mainstream K-pop, which depicts female as the lesser gender of two and the existence of women is “for the entertainment and sexual fulfillment of men” (Kistler & Moon 2009, 83).

Due to the absence of Psy in “LOVE”, these foreign dancing bodies were the main characters of the music video as it was aligned with and the overarching message of the song which was uniting one another through caring, especially post-conflict and solidarity. They weren’t used as commodities for male viewership and it was different than Saeji’s description of using foreign bodies as “the object of the sexual desire or love of a Korean star” (2016, 280). Psy’s innovative ideas with foreign bodies challenge the social tradition of music production. By placing them in the forefront of the video and lowering the level of sexuality of the foreign dancers, “LOVE” has the potential to lure more International followers while losing K-pop fans who are hungry for authenticity. He created an alternative way of utilizing foreign bodies.

“LOVE” provided fans a matured Psy who was different in the previous music video, the message of empowering women and low levels of sexuality from foreign bodies challenges the social norm of making K-pop music videos

Reference

Jung, Eun-Young. “K-Pop Idols, Social Media, and the Remaking of the Korean Wave.” Edited by Sangjoon Lee and Abé Markus Nornes. Hallyu 2.0: The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media, (2015): 72-89

Kistler, Michelle E., and Moon J. Lee. “Does Exposure to Sexual Hip-Hop Music Videos Influence the Sexual Attitudes of College Students?” Mass Communication and Society 13, no. 1 (December 22, 2009): 67-86.

Officialpsy. “LOVE (feat.TAEYANG).” YouTube. July 16, 2017. Accessed December 07, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5ve5lzs0wM.

Saeji, CedarBough T. “Cosmopolitan Strivings and Racialisation: The Foreign Dancing Body in Korean Popular Music Videos” Korean Screen Cultures: Interrogating Cinema, TV, Music and Online Games (New York: Peter Lang, 2016)

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Literature Application – Wesley Wong

In Ono and Kwon’s chapter about transnational Korean culture, the authors were interested in the compatible relationship between YouTube and K-pop. In addition, “YouTube as a K-pop interlocutor” investigated the features of YouTube which enabled K-pop to become an international phenomenon (2013, 200). The existence of YouTube substantially accelerated Psy’s journey to global stardom in K-pop, the aspects of “visual and minimal limitations” were significant to his fame.

K-pop industries started using YouTube as a cultural advertisement was because of the application’s ability to archive music videos and its reinforcement of visuality (2013, 2008). Psy was able to use his iconic choreography and became an emphasis on visual entertainment in all of his music videos. As a result, he became recognizable due to his dance moves and demonstrated that “visual impression plays a significant role in the consumption of K-pop” (Oh, 2012).

YouTube has a minimal limitation in terms of marketing K-pop, it provided a platform where producers are able to upload unwanted clips from traditional media and global fans have lesser barriers to consuming music videos (Ono & Kwon 2013, 209). In his latest attempt to eliminate the language barrier among fans, “LOVE” (Featuring. TAEYANG) had English subtitles for the entire song and there were phrases in multiple languages surrounding the theme of uniting. Global fans would have the opportunity to learn more about the artist/idol with the access of social networking sites (SNSs), more specifically with YouTube in terms of Psy.

Hallyu 2.0 or the new Korean wave has attracted many followers beyond South East Asia and this was achievable with the assistance of the internet. Without the exposure of YouTube and his iconic choreography, fans would never learn the real identity of Psy at a global scale.

Reference

Officialpsy. “LOVE (feat.TAEYANG).” YouTube. July 16, 2017. Accessed December 07, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5ve5lzs0wM.

Oh, S. ”Attractiveness Factors in K-Pop: Focused on American Consumer of K-Pop in U.S.A.”Journal of KSSSS (Jookwanseong Yeongu), 24: 205-214

Ono, Kent. A and Jungmin Kwon. “YouTube as a K-pop interlocutor” Edited by Youna Kim The Korean wave: Korean Media Go Global (New York: Routledge, 2013)

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Literary Analysis – Joel Yap

Literary Analysis- Joel Yap

Shortly after release, “Psy”’s Gangnam Style took the world by storm, subsequently breaking the YouTube record number of views for a single video at the time. Although the popular music video was able to resonate with audiences worldwide, it retains certain elements that distinguish it as distinctly Korean. As written in Hee-Eun Lee’s Koreanness in K-pop, such distinct elements can be traced back through the history of K-pop, and how globalization and modernization continue to impact the development of Korean music.

In Lee’s writing, the importance of the presentation of music through music videos is emphasized. Traditionally, cultural context has played an important role in the reception of music, however, with music videos there is a “disengagement from contexts” (24)1. Essentially, music videos present much more than just an audio track with lyrics to an audience, which provides the artist with a multitude of ways by which they can express themselves.

Lee writes that the “performance appears visually global, while their Korean lyrics and vocal effects are acoustically local” (11-12)2. In the Gangnam Style video, the most obvious feature is “Psy’s” now instantly recognizable dance move. Despite a global audience most likely not being able to understand the majority of the (limited) lyrics, other elements within the video work to retain their interest.

As a result, although the song is mostly in Korean and centered around a single area in Seoul, it was still able to garner a large international audience. It closely follows Lee’s writing that k-pop cultivates “mediation of global and local”(29-30)3.

 

 

  1. Lee Hee-Eun, “Seeking the “others” within us: Discourses of Korean-ness in Korean popular music” in Medi@sia:Global media/tion in and out of context (London, Routeledge, 2006)
  2. , 138
  3. , 139

 

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Video analysis – Joel Yap

Video Analysis- Joel Yap

“Psy”’s Gangnam Style was an international success, breaking the YouTube record number of views upon its release, and making “Psy” into a household name globally. It serves as an example as to how the hybridization of Western and Korean influence can work in sync to produce content that is appreciated globally. Gangnam Style’s music video heavily incorporates dancing, which can be in part attributed to its global success. The role that YouTube had in the success of Gangnam Style cannot be understated, and is the primary means by which it was disseminated globally.

Although “Psy” is not considered as a typical K-pop artist, in 2011 he was signed under YG entertainment (one of the largest music producers in k-pop) to utilize their global fan base1. Previously, “Psy” as an artist was considered by many to be at odds with k-pop, due to his “blunt lyrics, bizarre dance, and ridiculous performance”2. His appearance is also atypical of a what has become the norm in k-pop; “Psy” is generally viewed as having an unattractive face, and a “plump body”3. His signing by YG entertainment meant that the production of Gangnam Style would more closely follow the typical formula for success that the large Korean producers employ. On aggregate, the music videos produced by SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment garner the highest number of views for K-pop videos4. As such, the influence of YG Entertainment on the production of Gangnam Style likely attributed in part to its global success.

Gangnam Style also incorporates many textual hooks via which it’s audience can appreciate, follow along, and replicate. In this case, “an easy-to-follow song with an addictive electronic riff and repeated lyrics, a unique and funny dance, ridiculous characters and comic setups, and a satirical message”5 all contribute to an experience that a global audience can relate to. This can be reflected in its general success, and the thousands of parody/cover videos that were created in response to Gangnam Style. The signature horse riding dance that “Psy” employs throughout the video became a phenomenon in itself, spawning its own series of dance covers. The song closely follows the formula utilized by the major production companies in Korea, whereby artist “utilize repetitive versus and choruses primarily written in English or English mixed with Korean to target young generations who seek entertainment embedded in new media”6. Although not done to an elaborate extent, Gangnam Style does have several English phrases which are repeated throughout the music video.

Another aspect of the reception of Gangnam Style was the “mishearing” of the lyrics, confusing “Oppan Gangnam Style” with “Open Condom Style”7. Such mishaps actually helped further promote the song in some markets, by breaking what would otherwise be a language barrier, and even serving to fuel the creating of more cover videos.

The music video also serves to convey “Psy’s” satirical portrayal of the Gangnam area in Seoul, whereby he utilizes different scenery and his ridiculous outfits and dance moves to create a parody. The videography throughout the music video is typical of that within the k-pop industry, with the camera maintaining a strong and close focus on the idol, in this case, “Psy”.

Gangnam Style goes beyond being just a music video, its record breaking views on YouTube set the stage for non-Western artists to utilize the platform to enhance their global viewership. The different elements within the video come together to create a cohesive package that can be appreciated by a global audience, yet is instantly recognizable as being part of the k-pop genre.

 

  1. Jung Sookeung, “Global Production, Circulation, and Consumption of Gangnam Style,” International Journal of Communication 8, 2014: 2790-2810. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2966/1254
  6. Dal Yong Jin & Woonjae Ryo (2014) Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-pop: The Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics, Popular Music and Society, 37:2, 113-131, DOI 10.1080/03007766.2012.731721
  7. Jung Sookeung, “Global Production, Circulation, and Consumption of Gangnam Style,” International Journal of Communication 8, 2014: 2790-2810. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2966/1254

 

 

 

 

 

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Literature Application: Jung’s “K-Pop Idols, Social Media, and the Remaking of the Korean Wave”

In Jung’s article, “K-Pop Idols, Social Media, and the Remaking of the Korean Wave,” it illustrates how K-pop industries are a strong believer of the success behind social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as a generator of new waves to reach out to the American markets.  In reference to this wave that Jung has mentioned, it is called Hallyu. His focus is determined on four Korean wave formations and in particular, Psy’s fame resonates within the fourth wave of the social media explosion era.

In accordance to Jung’s explanation of the fourth wave, the emergence of Psy’s popularity is referred as the latest Hallyu K-pop idol within the late 2000s to present. During this wave, K-pop idols embodied “music and dance styles, visual stylistic emphasis, and multimedia presence” as a way to “generate new waves and reaching different shores, including America and Europe (Jung 2015, 80) This was followed by the introduction of a contributing factor that have progressed Hallyu within the American markets. Through the “intense development of information and communication technologies,” it has allowed many fans to video-share and to exploit “new social media to the maximum, including K-pop flash mob…and K-pop cover dances (Jung 2015, 81).”  Hence, Psy’s signature horse dance in “Gangnam Style,” has enabled fans from all over the world to use these technologies such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to communicate and to generate “a greater circulation” all over the world (Jung 2015, 82).

In conclusion, Psy is one of the K-pop idols that has ever reached in such epic crossover success. There is no doubt that Psy’s fame is solely based on Hallyu K-pop as the facilitation of technological advances in site-sharing spaces like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube has enabled him to reach new shores.

Bibliography

Jung, Eun-Young. Hallyu 2.0: The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media. Edited by Sangjoon Lee and Markus Nornes. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

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Video Analysis: Psy’s “Gentlemen”

In Psy’s music video, “Gentleman,” it portrays an opposite perspective of the normative ideals of a true gentleman. This music video has been a sensational hit on YouTube and has effectively displayed strong images of mockery against such gentlemen behaviour. In the music video, it has included many non-gentlemen behaviours like unstringing bikinis and pulling chairs away from women when they were about to sit. All these Psy’s pranks with women have ultimately shown us this problematic nature of this masculine identity within our modern world. Therefore, the presentation of Psy’s “Gentlemen,” can be perceived as a comic relief which incorporates dance and lyrics as a way to exhibit the treatment women being constantly sexualized and objectified in a patriarchal society like Korea.

First off, the success of his first viral hit, “Gangnam style,” has aligned many similarities with “Gentlemen,” due to the fact that it illustrates many critiques of randomness of the video. In particular, within each of these music videos, Psy includes iconic dance moves as a way to further provide entertainment and as a “sexless and clownish performer (Park 2015, 203).” In this case, in “Gentlemen,” not only did he execute many childish pranks on women, but also created a signature move with his hips swaying and his hands under his chin, that further produces Psy as an arrogant character. This results in reflecting an image of gentlemen displaying a satire way treating women today. In addition, the women in “Gentlemen,” were constantly being sexually objectified through their dances with bikini outfits and short dresses. For many instances, women were swaying their hips in bikinis like Psy while standing on top of a man laying down. As a result, this characterizes as “men [being] more powerful, dominant, aggressive, and violent, while women…to be presented as weak, dependent, submissive, and nurturing (Lin & Rudolf 2017, 30).” Certainly, the role of “costumes, [and] choreography” has provided a powerful empathises on women on “Gentlemen” being innocent and submissive within their role within the patriarchal society in Korea (Lin & Rudolf 2017, 30).

Although the majority of the lyrics in “Gentlemen” were in Korean, Psy has also ended the music video with an English chant. The exact phrases where he chants repetitively, “I’m going to make you sweat, I’m going to make you wet.” It is apparent that English mixing in lyrics was present in “Gentlemen” and has been used as a technique to “illustrate the playfulness [in] accompanying the convergence of multilingual ingredients…[to] reveal…national popular culture in general, and Korean popular music in particular (Jin & Ryoo 2014, 128).”Overall, these lyrics are constantly being repeated in Psy’s “Gentlemen,” to expose this excessive arrogance of hyper-sexualizing and illustrating obvious objection of women in the video.

All in all, the idea of women continually perceived as a sexualized object is constantly being framed in music videos like “Gentlemen.” There is no doubt that small theatrical acts like dance choreographies and even lyrics within the song that represent gender politics within our modern world. In this particular music video that Psy has created produces a mockery of real gentlemen that encourages the concept of disrespecting women in society today. As a result, “Gentlemen” presents dances and lyrics to facilitate the realignment of the role of women within the patriarchal society that Korea currently still embodies today.

– Emily Chow

Bibliography

Jin, Dal Yong, and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society37, no. 2 (2012): 113-31.

Lin, Xi, and Robert Rudolf. “Does K-pop Reinforce Gender Inequalities? Empirical Evidence from a New Data Set.” Asian Women33, no. 4 (2017): 27-54.

Park, Michael K. “Psy-Zing up the Mainstreaming of “Gangnam Style”.” Journal of Communication Inquiry39, no. 3 (2015): 195-212.

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