“Gangnam Style,” 9 things you need to know about music’s latest phenomenon

You've probably seen the term "Gangnam Style" thrown around on various social media outlets, news broadcasts and may have even witnessed the invisible "horse-riding dance" without knowing where it all comes from.

It all starts with this music video by Korean pop artist, PSY.

1. PSY, the mastermind behind the track "Gangnam Style"
Park Jae-Sang, who is better known under the moniker PSY (short for psycho), is a 34-year-old South Korean rapper whose sixth studio album, "PSY's Best 6th Part 1," contains the super viral track "Gangnam Style." For his education, he "briefly" attended Boston University and graduated from the Berklee School of Music and says that his musical influences include artists like Eminem, 2Pac, Jay-Z and Dr. Dre with his biggest inspiration being Queen.

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2. What "Gangnam Style" is about
"'Gangnam' means, it's like the Beverly Hills of Korea," PSY told ABC News. "[However,] the dance doesn't look like Beverly Hills, the lyrics don't [sound] like Beverly Hills and the music and all the situations [in the video] doesn't look like Beverly Hills. But, he keeps saying, 'I'm Beverly Hills Style,' so that's the point. It's sort of a twist."

3. What PSY's video is really commenting on and who it depicts
Adrian Hong, a Korean-American consultant who spoke with The Atlantic's Max Fisher about the subtext in the "Gangnam Style" music video, says, "The neighbourhood in Gangnam is not just a nice town or nice neighbourhood. The kids that he's talking about are not Silicon Valley self-made millionaires. They're overwhelmingly trust-fund babies and princelings."

So when you're watching the clip, think of the characters on the '90s drama "Beverly Hills, 90120," only much, much wealthier.

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Further on, Hong explains that the video also subtly references the high credit card debt present in South Korea with Fisher citing the facts of every adult carrying approximately five credit cards each and that they've been surviving on credit since the mid-1990s.

4. What the lyrics translate to
Blogger Jea Kim, author of the website My Dear Korea, took the time to caption PSY's hit in English, which you can watch here.

One theme that particularly stands out in the song is how PSY uses coffee culture to justify aspects of his and his love interest's personality.

Kim explains that lyrics like, "A girl who is warm and humanly during the day/ A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee," and, "A guy who is as warm as you during the day/ A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down," speaks to the social status associated with the beverage when purchased from a shop in likeness to Starbucks in Korea.

"It's not your ordinary coffee; it's gotta be a cup of Starbucks coffee if you will," she writes in her post. "In Korea, there's a joke poking fun at women who eat 2,000-won (about $2) ramen for lunch and then spend 6,000 won on Starbucks coffee."

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5. The hidden message behind "Gangnam Style"
Putting it bluntly, Hong says that the Gangnam District's culture in Seoul has been at the cutting edge of "spending to look wealthy" and that PSY is acting in the video like the prime example of what some might label as a poser.

"I think a lot of what [PSY] is pointing out is how silly that is," Hong told The Atlantic. "The whole video is about him thinking he's a hotshot but then realizing he's just, you know, at a children's playground, or thinking he's playing polo or something and realizes he's on a merry-go-round."

6. Artists caught loving "Gangnam Style"
Whether it is on Twitter or during concerts, North American artists have been showing their love for "Gangnam Style" since its release.

For instance, rapper T-Pain tweeted, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...#GANGNAM STYLE…That is all." While Katy Perry wrote, "Help, I'm in a Gangnam style k hole."

British singer Robbie Williams has even blogged about his love for the catchy track and singer Josh Groban also tweeted, "It's a Gangnam Style world, we're just living in it. Amazing video."

Even Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado was caught performing PSY's hit and his signature dance moves during one of her concerts in the Philippines.

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7. The mash-ups, parodies and reactions to "Gangnam Style"
Like every viral video worth its salt, PSY's clip has spawned mash-ups like this one combining his track with Nicki Minaj's "Starships," as well as fans trying to imitate the video and viewers who have captured their reaction upon seeing it for the first time.

8. The "horse-riding dance"

According to The Washington Post, "The dance has multiple influences: The 60s dance called the pony, popularized by Chubby Checker; LMFAO's 'Party Rock Anthem' shuffle (which, in turn, comes from the Melbourne Shuffle); a little bit of Monty Python; and regular old pantomime."

We have a feeling that it could become the next big group dance, so you might as well start dusting off your imaginary riding boots now. Time to put aside the Chicken Dance and the Macarena because it's about to go "Gangnam Style."

9. Who is the adorable youngster at the beginning of the music video?
"His name is Hwang Min-woo and he's five," PSY said in an interview. "The night before the music video shoot, I was watching 'Korea's Got Talent' and saw him dance to Michael Jackson. His moves were ridiculous. So we called him up and asked him to be in the music video, which was shooting the very next day, and he came and it all worked out."

Looks like "Gangnam Style" is here to stay!

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