Skift Take
There's nothing like an international pop phenomenon to get people interested in a new destination. As travelers will see, though, South Korea's soft power has more than just good beats you can dance to.
The global pop sensation of the year has got us all excited about South Korea. Welcome to the world of K-culture
Gangnam Style, a novelty song by the South Korean rapper Psy, is the global pop sensation of 2012. It is No1 on the UK singles chart and has been viewed more than 360 million times on YouTube. Britney Spears asked Psy to teach her his rodeo-riding dance live on Ellen DeGeneres’s TV show. Even a YouTube clip of five Korean girls dancing to Gangnam Style has been viewed more than 35 million times.
Now, just as The Killing led to a mania for “Nordic noir” TV cop shows, so Gangnam Style has led to a fad for K-pop, the pop music of South Korea. But why stop there? Why not dive into the whole of K-culture? Here is your instant, 10-point bluffer’s guide…
1 K-song: Gangnam Style, named after the swanky Gangnam area of Seoul, epitomises both the pervasive cultural influence of the West and the rising economic power of the East. The Korean lyrics may be inco
