Who likes Gangnam Style? Count in Ban Ki-moon
Host Kevin Hart and rapper Psy onstage during the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards at Staples Center on September 6, 2012. Psy’s viral hit “Gangnam Style” inspired a dance-off in Thailand, which escalated into a shoot out between rival gangs.
What does Gangnam Style have to do with the United Nations, exactly? Easy: UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon happens to be a big fan.
The 68-year-old Ban Ki-moon is South Korean, just like Gangnam Style star Psy, and he told AFP in an interview on Tuesday that he's seen the aggressively weird video "several times."
Ki-moon waxed poetic about the international appeal of the video, telling AFP: "There are no languages required in the musical world. That is the power of music, that is the power of the heart. Through this promotion of arts we can better understand the culture and civilizations of other people.
"In this era of instability and intolerance we need to promote better understanding through the power of music," he added.
Read more from GlobalPost:Psy to perform Gangnam Style topless if it reaches No 1 on Billboard chart
Gangnam Style has become a powerful international pop sensation, garnering over 472 million Youtube views and growing on the Internet, and hitting number 2 on Billboard's USA rap charts.
It's being played everywhere from Singapore Internet cafes to American football games, and Psy has gone from a reasonably popular K-pop star to something of a global icon.
Want an in-depth analysis of what the video means? Ask a Korean has the goods.
Highlights: the Gangnam area is something like the uber-trendy Beverly Hills of Seoul,the video bears a distinct resemblance to the artistic stylings of US electro-pop band LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It," and it might be really worthwhile to contemplate the racial and cultural underpinnings of this whole pop sensation, at least after we stop laughing.
Perhaps most importantly, OnePopz.com has actually figured out why Psy is seen yelling aggressively at a sexy woman's behind in the music video:
“I’m yelling at her butt. I want to tell you the reason why for the first time: honestly, I love butt! I literally love butt. What can I say?”
Oh, and the Vigorous Elevator Crotch Undulations guy is a South Korean comedian named Noh Hong-chul, who studied mechanical engineering in college and then decided that a life based upon telling jokes and a trademark "lewd dance" beated a life of quiet academic contemplation. Who could blame the guy?
Here's the Gangnam Style video below, in case you've been living under a rock in the Australian Outback for the past three months and have somehow missed seeing this. In which case, you might want to re-think your "living under a rock" strategy.