The popularity of "Gangnam Style" by South Korean artist PSY has been nothing short of phenomenal. The meaning and lyrics of this Guinness record-setting video poke fun at the life in Gangnam, an affluent area in Seoul where an average apartment costs $716,000. But when the music and dance are so catchy, and the video is so funny, not many really care about the message.
According to an urban dictionary:
"Gangnam" means "south(nam) of the river(gang)" in Korean. In this song, the "river(gang)" is the Han River, which penetrates the City of Seoul, capital of South Korea. The northern part of Seoul(gangbuk) has been the capital of Korea since the early 15th century. Development of Gangnam and expansion of Seoul started in 1970s. Gangnam is the icon of the rapid economic development of South Korea in 1970s and 80s. Mostly benefited from skyrocketing real estate price followed by planned economic development, Gangnam has become the most wealthy area in the entire South Korea. "Gangnam" is being regarded as the place where people are rich, girls are pretty and everything is supposed to be cool.
PSY's video portrays "Gangnam Style" as where you dress rich and classy, but have lots of fun. In the song he sings "A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all" and "A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles." PSY is definitely a "Gangnam Style" guy with great ideas and talent.
Check out Gangnam Style Translation: 'You Know What I'm Saying'
The "Gangnam Style" video has set a new Guinness World Record for most likes in YouTube history, with 2,376,833 likes as of press time. Guinness World Record reports that "Gangnam" has surpassed other most liked video, LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem", Justin Bieber's "Baby" and Adele's "Rolling In The Deep".
"Having been the 'have you seen this?!' video of the last two months across the web, it's great to be able to award a record for this tremendously popular video," Guinness World Records Community Manager Dan Barrett said in a statement. "In years past, it was unthinkable that something would be viewed a hundred million times, and now 'Gangnam Style' has achieved more than twice this figure in just three months on YouTube. PSY - your certificate is waiting here at our office, come pick it up any time!"