K-Contagion Sound, Speed, and Space in “Gangnam Style” Marcus Tan

The Glocal Phenomenon On 15 July 2012, a rotund, clean-cut Asian man wearing a fancy suit and riding an invisi- ble horse startled the community. His Korean pop music video featured the now-­ distinctive neigh of the by now all-too-familiar phrase, “Oppan Gangnam Style.” The music video’s subsequent viral race to fame was meteoric. “Gangnam Style” needs no real introduction and that itself attests to its unprecedented yet curious pop phenomenality. Written, produced, and performed by neo K-pop Park-Jae Sang, more popularly known as , “Gangnam Style” is a conventionally timed 3 minute and 39 second K-pop dance video full of fast cars, speed boats, pretty girls, ugly men, and horses.1 Its hybrid techno-pop beats, rap rhythms, and synth sound effects epitomize the growing popularity of bubblegum K-pop, Korean hip hop that forms part of what is now commonly known as hallyu (한류) — the “” that has gained attention in Asia and the West. The video’s trite narrative of an impossible romance

1. The original video on YouTube can be found at www..com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 (officialpsy 2012).

Figure 1. The glocal phenomenon: Psy’s “Gangnam Style” employs familiar visual tropes from action movies to create familiarity in difference. (Screenshot from the official music video of “Gangnam Style”; © YG Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved)

TDR: The Drama Review 59:1 (T225) Spring 2015. ©2015 New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 83

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84 Marcus Tan to mimicthe Western Other. of thetendencyamongmanySouthKoreanstowardlavishmaterialisticobsessionsandadesire rants longingtobelongthe “Beverly Hills” ofSouthKorea;byextension, itisalsoacensure Time (2012)andMaxFisher(2012), whowritesforTheAtlantic, posit, asocialcritiqueofaspi- activist message. SetintheglitzydistrictofGangnamSeoul, thevideois, asDavidFutrelleof moves, offersnotonlybanalentertainmentbuthasalsobeentoutedforitssocialandpolitical (thwarted byclassdifferences), sungtoraprhythmsandaccompaniedbyPsy’shorse-trotting performance, Asian Shakespeare, Asian performance, [email protected] andpopular entertainments. His research interests includeintercultural theatre, soundscapes of globalization andperformance, Theatre TheatreResearch suchasContemporary has publishedinjournals International. Review and is theauthorofAcoustic Interculturalism: ListeningtoPerformance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) and Marcus Tan isalecturer indramastudiesattheSchoolofCreative Arts, Queen’s University Belfast.He ronmental activists;andappropriatedbyNorthKoreanstodeliverapoliticalmessage. been praisedorperformedbyBanKi-moon, BarackObama, andDavidCameron;usedbyenvi- and politicalimpactisnolessastounding:the“GangnamStyle” song-and-dancenumberhas reporting ontheuncannyviralphenomenonjust19daysaftervideo’srelease. Itscultural It generatedmediacuriosityinthe West andthe withCNNInternational Wall Street Journal ing flashmobsandburlesqueperformancesthatpopulatedbothcyberspacerealspace. on YouTube (asof21July2014). “Gangnam Style” spawnedscoresofparodic offspring, includ- topped theiTunes chartsin31countries, andholdstheinfamoustitleof “most watchedvideo” tural andgeographicalbarriers. ItwontheMTVEuropeMusic Award forBest Video in2012, national acclaimanditspopularityinfectedthedigitallyconnectedworld, perforatingcul- released primarilyforaKoreanmarket, “Gangnam Style” rapidlyembracedunanticipatedinter passage fromglobalanonymitytoglocaladorationiscuriouslyatypical. Forasongthatwas Style” videoseemlikejustanotherproductofthispost-mechanicalagereproduction, its tural intersections. ent “universality” thatengenderquestionsabouttheinterculturalspacecreatedbyitstranscul- As acommodityofthecultureindustry, “GangnamStyle”exhibitsaglocalqualityandappar uid modernity” (2000), suchargumentsseeminsufficientinexplainingthesong’smagnetism. logical forcesthatexemplifytheculturalglobalizationofwhatZygmuntBaumancalls “liq- replicate? While itsapotheosishascommonlybeenattributedtomusicologicalandtechno- tive reactionsthattranscendculturaldifferenceandinfectviewerswithadesiretomimic conventional commentary: What aboutthemusicvideoinspiressuchhomogenouslyposi- 3. 2.

While themusicalproperties, technicolorvisuals, andjuvenilenarrativemakethe“Gangnam The ParkStraits the horse-dance (The digitally mapped onto the video, performing Times 2012). South Korean presidential-elect party Park conservative Geun-hye. Called “I’m Yushin Style!”, the video features oceans (Baillie 2012). “Gangnam Style” was even appropriated by the North Koreans as a means to mock the Gangnam, Style” on 19 December to raise awareness about unsustainable fishing and care for the to discover” (The Telegraph 2012a). Appropriated for activisim, Greenpeace International produced “Going revealed to the press that he and “danced Gangnam Style the other day, you will be shocked has admitted that he dances it just to embarrass his daughters (Abraham 2012). London Mayor Hampshire radio station WZID, that he did know how to do the “Gangnam Style” dance moves (Tau 2012) and been uploaded by of Psy teaching Ban Ki Moon the “Gangnam Style” dance made headlines on 24 October 2012 and these have The impact of “Gangnam Style” has been so significant, even politicians took notice of its global impact. Videos hard very to be something they’re“kinds of people who are trying not” (in Koehler 2012). and pretend they are from the (the attitude known as “Gangnam style”). It is a song about the Psy famously claims, in an interview, that his song was a parody about the “posers and wannabes” who put on airs The uncannyimmediacyofthereactionandwidespreadappealhaveinspiredcritical The Telegraph (2012b) and CNN (2012). Barack with ObamaNew revealed, in an interview 2

3 - - K-Contagion “Gangnam Style” 85 ­ chorus. chorus. ’s pop chart and maintained ’s pop chart and maintained Gangnam Style” Gangnam

From a musicological perspective, “Gangnam Style” is minimally distinguishable from other is minimally distinguishable Style” “Gangnam From a musicological perspective, Adorno postulates that pop- popular music, In attempting to privilege serious music over is afflicted by repetitions: “Gangnam Style,” Mimicking the musicological tropes of K-pop, While the high incidence of rhythmic and notational repetition is generic, the song’s global While the high incidence of rhythmic and notational repetition is generic, composi- appeal is surprising since there is nothing significantly peculiar about its musicological formulaic conventions in pop lead In fact, tion to explain the attentive addiction it has inspired. (Adorno [1941] 2002:447). of listening habits” “institutionalization and standardization to an automat- The outcome of this standardization and recurrence is the way in which listeners without thought or deliberation (447). ically, The (Musical) Language of “ The (Musical) and industry experts, by music critics, has been extolled Style” “Gangnam Since its release, proclaimed Times of the Los Angeles Deborah Neburn 2012, August On 28 alike. journalists (Netburn YouTube” to ever to be uploaded of the greatest videos “one to be Style” “Gangnam be one of declared the song to Boris Johnson of the Telegraph 2012, On 23 December 2012). masterpieces of 2012 (Johnsonthe greatest cultural release, Just two months after its 2012). number two position on the US Billboard the song reached the Sound this claim to fame for seven weeks. It topped similar charts in countries such as Australia and in countries such as It topped similar charts seven weeks. this claim to fame for short of a pop culture phenom- “nothing called the peculiar success Billboard.com Britain. at a global level “a massive hit declaring it (Jungenon” YouTube 2012) with top executives at ( ever seen before” unlike anything we’ve Psy’s success has inev- Jung 2012; emphasis added). and this achievement by a interest in Korean pop across the world itably garnered increasing International Federation of the chief executive of the Frances Moore, pop star led non-Western the reason became one was to state that “Gangnam Style” Phonographic Industry, (Moore 2012). exporters of repertoire” “most successful of the electronic synth-based hip hop rhythmic patterns, existing K-pop songs that employ similar have praised Even as music critics English phrases. and token repetitive expressions, sounds, the song primarily follows the compositional formula of for its differences, “Gangnam Style” T-ara, Junior, Super Rain, Girls, Wonder likes of the K-pop popularized internationally by the more acoustemo- arguably, hybridized sounds that are, These formulaic songs use and others. When played alongside will.i.am’s than they are cross-culturally distinct. Western logically interjected rhythms, sonicities, electronic the synth-styles, and Shout (2012) for example, Scream and lyrical reprise of both songs sonically interweave structural repetition, melodic circularism, tag on the cover and “you could slap an LMFAO As music critic Robert Copsey writes, easily. (2012). few would know the difference” artistic inferiority) is predicated on the concept of ular music with its mass appeal (and hence is a contin- Adorno describes it in his 1941 essay, as Plugging, “plugging.” standardization and ([1941] “ceaseless repetition” material through uation and formal of the musical As standardization defines popular music. From the form to the musical details, 2002:447). success); pop replicates itself with simulated difference through imitation (and imitated such, of popu- and consumer-demand production, standardization pervades the tonal relationships, and reproduction facilitate a systematic development of replication, This imitation, lar music. allows Adorno observes, as Such a process, music. the ways modern listeners consume popular “predi- unnecessary since popular music is already one to listen yet makes any effort in listening (443). gested” is the most that accentuates the syncopated upbeats, with a 4/4 tempo its musical construction, which is salient in its the musicality of rap is predicated on repetition, Furthermore, notable. words in the chorus are heavily repeated and the title of Predictably, rhythm and end rhymes. or scalar variation is absent and the chordal, Notational, the song is announced over 15 times. replicated in the bars antecedent to the with D rapidly notes D and B are emphasized, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26September 2021

86 Marcus Tan and sheersilliness behavior; itishollowofsignificationandperhapsinthedance’sspaceabsentmeaning O... O... oppangangnamstyle,” Psy’sasininedanceisanembodimentofunadulteratedchild adulthood (450). Inadditiontothe “baby talk” consistingof “heeeeeey sexylady!” and “O... O... representation offun, accordingto Adorno, toalleviatethedifficultiesandresponsibilitiesof cookies andcandies” (450). All theseservetotreattheconsumersofpopaschildrenandinthat odies arelimitedtoaselectfewtones, overly “sweet” soundcolors “functioning likemusical derogatory useofchildren’slanguage(suchas “Goody, Goody” or “Cry, Baby, Cry”);themel- such poptunesareexcessivelysimplifiedandduplicated, andarecharacterizedbyambiguousor “child-behavior” foritcreatesamusicallanguagethat “betokens dependence” (450). Lyrics in the historicalmaterialistterms “Baby Talk.” Popularmusic, as Adorno postulates, encourages dance. Returningto Adorno’s critiqueofpopularmusic, “Gangnam Style” exemplifieswhat dies andperformances, liveormediated, demonstratethefeverishfervortoreplicatethisquirky eccentric horse-trottingmoves. The highincidenceofmimicry, evidentinthenumerousparo- outcome ofthewhimsicaldance. The “Gangnam Style” videoiscertainlyrememberedforits could otherwiseneverhave[had]” (Adorno[1941]2002:447). and repetition, and “repetition givesapsychologicalimportancewhichit[“GangnamStyle”] repeatability, ascitationorparody, createsasimulacrumofdifferencerootedinstandardization York Style,” “Baby GangnamStyle,” and “MIT, NoamChomskyStyle.” This reiterationand of fluidityinwhichformerlystable compasspoints, suchasthestate, nationhood, citizenship, and theincreasingprivatization ofwealthandservicesarereasonsBaumancitesforthisstate structure foranysustainedperiod. The information revolution, thedominanceofglobalcapital, which, likeliquid, sociallifeandallitsmanifestations areunabletoretaintheirshape, form, or propelling, self-intensifying, compulsiveandobsessive (2011:11)asaresultof ‘modernization’” modernity,” “hypermodernity,” and “second modernity” as “liquid modernity” (2011), ZygmuntBaumandescribeswhatothershavedesignated tobe “late modernity,” “post- of thefluiditycontemporaryculturalandsocialforms. InCulture inaLiquidModern World In manyways, theglobalqualityof “Gangnam Style” anditshybridmusicalityareexemplary (Inter)Culture inaLiquidModern World Space works creatingtheirown “Top 10GangnamStyleParodies” list. own. As simulationsofsimulations, theseburlesqueformsgainedglobalstatus, withmedianet- Stawski beingthefirst(seeRamstad2012). Suchparodiesconsequentlyassumedlivesoftheir dies, “K-pop MusicMondays:PSYGangnamStyle” byCanadianbloggersSimonandMartina Williams, BritneySpears, and . This spawned subsequentvideoreactionsandparo- the socialblogsiteGawker andwassoonsharedbypopstarsmoviesuchasRobbie who tweetedaboutiton29July2012. ItwasthenpickedupbyNeetzanZimmermanfrom According tothe Wall Street Journal, thevideowasfirstintroducedtoworldvia T-Pain is, the “Gangnam Style” videocanbecreditedforthepopularityof “Gangnam Style” song. been responsiblefortheglobalcontagionof “Gangnam Style” morethanthemusicitself;that media “sharing.” SocialmediaplatformssuchasFacebookand couldbesaidtohave tion ofadifferentsort, onefoundedontechnologicalrepeatability, otherwiseknownassocial and outsideofKorea, theuncommonsuccessof “Gangnam Style” waspredicateduponrepeti- tural consumptionepitomizesanewculturallogicoflatecapitalism:thereturnto “Neverland.” 4.

Perhaps manywouldconsiderthiscontagionaslesstheresultofmusicandmore While thisautomatousreactionshouldbesimilartootherK-popresponsesbothwithin Parodies” (Williams See “Top 10 Gangnam Style parodies show our funny PSYde” (Battle

— 2012); “The Best ‘Gangnam Style’ (Video)”Parodies (The Huffington Post 2012).

the reliefofresponsibility

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that thesongfindsglobalappeal. Itstranscul- 2012); “The 10 Best ‘Gangnam Style’ 4 Someoftheseinclude “New

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a stateof “self- K-Contagion “Gangnam Style” 87 ­ - the

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the preference the preference

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individual, social, politi- social, individual,

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thrive on this fluidity, imperma- thrive on this fluidity,

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a world culture of diluted hybridities.

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in whatever forms they assume in whatever forms they

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have become destabilized. The inclination toward rootedness and belonging rootedness and belonging inclination toward The destabilized. have become

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Adopting a more optimistic perspective, there are many who regard the global popularity of Adopting a more optimistic perspective, Such a liquefaction of “Koreanness” is also evidenced in the way the success of Psy’s song is “Koreanness” Such a liquefaction of “Gangnam Style” exemplifies this new global power that feeds on the fluidity of space (cul- exemplifies this new global power that feeds “Gangnam Style” mine “Koreanness” by the impact of the Korean Wave. In considering the success of this global In considering the success Wave. Korean by the impact of the “Koreanness” mine “[t]his projection has foreign consumers become the arbiters of cultural value and marketing, by non- the ironic impact of making Korean culture successful to the degree that it is enjoyed “Korean” and “Korean culture,” “Koreanness,” While the concepts of Koreans (Ravina 2009:4). Ravina’s statement are recognizably problematic and are themselves subjects of critical debate, relation to the the local exists as a fluid in the condition of liquid modernity, exemplifies how, are ontologically engendered from the global. “localness” global; locality and a new cul- succeeded in creating “Gangnam Style” as a cause for celebration. “Gangnam Style” and beliefs; it promoted a oneness nationalities, tural product shared by peoples of all races, apart from its features of lyrics many ways, In that embraces an erasure of difference. with modernity being its visual prin- is acultural, “Gangnam Style” Asian dancing bodies, and the images in and techno, rap, hip hop, American pop, As in its generic counterparts in ciple. They feature iconic signifiers of acultural global modernity the video come rapid-fire. and video have garnered greater interest in all things “Korean.” In response, Korean authori- Korean In response, “Korean.” in all things and video have garnered greater interest place in the world via these global interpolations, ties and representatives now measure Korea’s as it is “local,” The and K-pop. consumer kitsch, which include heart-wrenching soap operas, Cautioning against the celebra- is called into being as a consequence of the global. now defined, that there Mark Ravina argues of global-Korea, tion of this mediatization and popularization when promoters or government officials deter is potential harm to Korean cultural identity pellation, K-pop music has always included English phrases to assist in its “foreign” intrusion. intrusion. “foreign” K-pop music has always included English phrases to assist in its pellation, Apart “Hey Sexy Lady.” tokenism is evident in the phrase, this linguistic “Gangnam Style,” In phrase can Adorno’s notion of baby talk where the linguistically dislocated from exemplifying becomes “Hey Sexy Lady” common to pop music, be read as yet another vacuous expression As a consequence of the state of the familiar alien. a means to make the foreign familiar and and that which is foreign become liquefied; linguis- both that which is solidly familiar liquidity, not If one subscribes to the belief that language, tic signifiers lose meaning in fluid contexts. identity, delineates culture and cultural intonations, merely the script but also its sounds and seems to perform liquid culture “Gangnam Style” nence, and nomadism, and it is in this liquid state that such powers find a warrant for their sus- and it is in this liquid state that such and nomadism, nence, tained dominance. located in the porosity of the local, The influence of Psy’s work is time. tural and physical) and or linguistic clarity, There is no need for contextual meaning “locals.” and other the global, where culture condition of fluidity, In this culture in liquid modernity. which is exemplary of peo- enormous department store, similar to an according to Bauman, are, and cultural identity many who do not comprehend the for and, consumers (2001:16), first and foremost, ple are, does not matter as for example, the incomprehensibility of lyrics in hangul, , “locals” this complex network of In consume this foreign pop commodity. much as the need to global relations inevitably define the fluid identities of the the throughflows of “globals,” and to dissolve the distinction between global and local goes further “Gangnam Style” Yet local. The perfunctory use of English consumer products. and repackages such solids as transcultural to global inter In a willing subscription in point. in the song (and other K-pop tunes) is a case cal, and cultural and cal, “revenge of nomadism” describes as the by what Bauman is now threatened culture, and family, have dissolved. With the dissolution of social and political boundaries and and boundaries and political of social the dissolution With dissolved. have family, and culture, identities of personal behavior, and liberalization the deregulation and prevalence of “an exterritorial elite over sedentarism” (2000:13). In a world where peo- In (2000:13). elite over sedentarism” “an exterritorial of and prevalence cleared. frontiers need to be and checkpoints, borders, barriers, can flow freely, ple and power new global powers Today, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26September 2021 88 Marcus Tan music video of “Gangnam Style”; © YG Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved) copycat videos and flash mobs around the world. (Screenshot from the official Figure 2. Oppan Gangnam Style: The zany horse dance that inspired many steeds andgallopingtothesame beatsbringstheworldtogetherin “perfect harmony” ity akintoCoca-Cola’s1971advertising slogan, “I’d LiketoBuythe World aCoke.” Mounting ing ofphysicalspacewithotheractorsengagedinasimilartaskoractivitygrantsimportance awards importancethroughasharingofphysical-virtualspace. As Baumanposits, suchashar formative. PartakinginthisGangnamcommunityexemplifiesamodeofconsumptionthat Nations! The movingbody, drivenbyrhythm, becomesthesiteofglobalinterculturalper its performanceofcapitalism “Gangnam Style” isarchetypicalofamodernglobalmetropolis. Itsglobalappealislocatedin ble classes. While therearemore “local” interjections hypermodern districtofGangnamwithitsskyscrapers, fastcars, subways, speedboats, andyoga manent personal identitiesandbonds. Insuch astate, theneedforautopian communityis seems tobedesirableinthisfluid postnationalmodernitycharacterizedbyfragileandimper like Cokedoes, according tothead’slyrics. 2012) to28September2012 per and mingletotherhythmsofmusic. According toanarticleintheSouthKoreannewspa- can beignoredwhenbodies, regardlessofnationality, gender, class, age, andethnicity, move and movement. Foranon–Koreanspeakinglistener, Psy’sincomprehensiblerapmutterings tious dancereifiesatransculturalbeliefintheliquiduniversalqualitiesandappealofrhythm cultures, simultaneouslyengulfingandamalgamatingthem. In “GangnamStyle,” theinfec- nificantly, itrevealsmaterialmodernity’sliquidboundaries, whichebbandflowintoOther belong tonewandlargercommunitiesthatextendbeyondfamiliarsolidboundaries. Moresig- 2012). The numerousreproductionsexemplifyatechno-tribalismandrapaciousdesireto (Kpop Nonstop2012)andthe “” Times Squaremob(seeOldenburg mobs thathaveappearedontheinternet, suchasGangnamStyleFlashmobSweden2012 true universal:materialcapitalism. mock them. Viewed throughaMarxianlens, “Gangnam Style” canbesaidtoexemplifytheone modernity’s materialiconsevenasthesongpurportedlyparodiesthesesymbolsandattitudesto ably acultural)signifiersofmaterialprogress. What “GangnamStyle” performsisapageantof

Performing the “Gangnam Style” danceencouragesabeliefinneocommunitarianism that This materialconsumptionofOthernessisevidentinthenumerous “Gangnam Style” flash — Dong-a Ilbo, peoplein222countriesaccessedthevideofromdayofitsrelease(15July

these donotinanywayestablishasenseoflocalityorthe “local.” The Gangnamof

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more countriesthanthe193memberofUnited

a neoculturalselfhoodthatembracestranscultural(andargu-

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of (Koreanchess)andahorsesta- advances aone-worldmental- ual ofdancingthe “horse trot” to Bauman’stheory, thepoprit- 2012).France-Presse According force forworldpeace” (Agence global reach” andcouldbe “a that thesonghas “unlimited Ki-moon, aKorean, claimed when Secretary-GeneralBan endorsed bytheUnitedNations of numbers. Itwaseven icated uponsuchanapproval of “Gangnam Style” ispred- The neo-universalimportance the numberofpeopleinvolved. through itssheerrepetitionand gives theactionsignificance bers” (2000:97). This approval through an “approval ofnum- and prominencetothisaction

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just - - - K-Contagion “Gangnam Style” 89 Figure 3. Gangnam for all: The final dance, which reflects U.N. Secretary- U.N. reflects which dance, final The all: for Gangnam 3. Figure world for force a be could Style” “Gangnam that belief Ki-moon’s Ban General YG © Style”; “Gangnam of video music official the from (Screenshot peace. reserved) rights All Inc. Entertainment -

From a metaperformative offering goofy laughs for all and, thanks to Psy’s decidedly non-pop star looks, in a very non-pop star looks, thanks to Psy’s decidedly for all and, offering goofy laughs or be understood Psy doesn’t even have to sing in English non-threatening package. but by the lyrics that matters to the audience, because it’s not the social critique offered of which and a rather catchy tune, goofy dance, the marriage of the funny music video, man who makes “Asian Psy is non-threatening. two of the elements are comical and [...] Asia men are because he fits neatly into our [America’s] pop cultural milieu where in it” or the biggest geeks in high Confucius-quoting clairvoyants, either kung-fu fighters, (Pan 2012) school. mance of clumsiness, the spec- mance of clumsiness, and the tacle of ridiculousness, foolish-looking dance moves that make him so endearing because he conforms to racial “assumed prejudices of the ineptitude and humdrum (Lam Asians” squareness of according to Lam, This, 2012). that “the reassures Westerners yellow peril won’t be coming (Lam 2012). any time soon” the global success of perspective, “universal” its “Gangnam Style,” appeal and exceptional recep- occurred only because of tion, Like the visual imagery of capi- Asians. the confluence of existing typecasts and perceptions of West the contagion in the talist modernity and the musicological familiarity of mimicked forms, This sameness is not “same.” is the consequence of an Otherness that is consumed and made the “feminine” one of surface identity but deeper preconceptions and predeterminations: Psy is the In “consumable.” and personality make him easily mannerisms, Asian whose unmasculine frame, and once a member of the his female counterpart and love interest in the video, , tandem, even as she consciously performs, subscribes to, Girls, Wonder popular all-female K-pop band Asian archetype of a Geisha beauty. the Echoing this sentiment, Perry Echoing this sentiment, Lam of the South China Morning posits that it is Psy’s perfor Post a predictable reaction (see Bauman 2000:170). Community cleanses and distills differences distills differences cleanses and Community 2000:170). reaction (see Bauman a predictable feel- “we” This (see Sennett 1996:36). of solidarity and oneness it creates a myth and conflict; as of difference, acknowledgement blindness to a deeper a rejection and compels however, ing, who sentiments of many have expressed the Ban Ki-moon may While (1996:39). Sennett argues - blind to race or cul it is not a utopia as a neoteric utopia, of horse-trotters saw a community no one can ignore language, to disregard the incomprehensible some may choose While ture. of the sonic qualities of the Korean The persistence effects of listening. the phenomenological that comprises the ste- performs an Otherness as accent and intonation, its presence language, contributed to the success which has inadvertently “Asianness,” of reotypical representations rotund man accompanied by Images of an average-looking, West. in the “Gangnam Style” of Asian stereo- underscore the in yellow suits and other overweight men scrawny geeks dressed blogger acuity, With concepts of masculinity. Western in relation to type of an inferior Other Asian mainstream-friendly role of Pan describes how Psy conforms to the and reviewer Deanna male jester, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26September 2021

90 Marcus Tan sphere, speed eradicatesspace. The wirelessinternet, Web 2.0, andspeed-of-lightfiber optics ment becomestheverystructure ofexistence. behind. And sohumanity’s needforspeedremainsvoracious, andthisarrested-ness tomove- porary society. Progress equalsacceleration, yethoweverfastwemove, we arealwaysalready communications havecreateda homogenizationofspeedthatisthechieffeaturecontem - (Virilio in Armitage 2001:71). Tele-technologies, livefeeds, satellitesignals, andfiber-optic for greaterspeeds. The inevitableoutcomeisthatspeed isnolongerameansbut “a milieu” cient. We nowseektotravelasfastlightandat “warp speeds” tosatisfytheinsatiabledesire when humanssurpassedthespeedofsound. Traveling fasterthansonicspeedsbecameinsuffi- dernity breaksthatrelationship;today, speedisvalued inandofitself. Suchafracturehappened both existsymbiotically. While speedwasoncea necessary conditionforprogress, hypermo- such, apredatoryrelationshipbetweengrowthandspeed; oneyieldsmoreoftheotherwhere increase speed, andsocietydemandsmoretechnology and, hence, greaterspeeds. There is, as (1997), humansocietyisfoundedonapoliticaleconomy ofspeed. Technology’s purposeisto particular and isthefundamentalprincipleofliquidmodernity. As Virilio arguesinmanyofhisworks, in compressed; a “logic ofacceleration” (Armitage2000)thuspresidesoverthemodernworld ment, thetransferenceofpeopleandobjects, andthetransmissionofimagesideasarenow nomic speed anditisconcernedwithhowconditionsofhumansociety ceives ittobetheprocessandactivityofrace. Dromologyishencethescience(orlogic)of dictatorship ofmovement. InGreek, “dromos” referstothe “race course.” Virilio, however, con- orist Paul Virilio’s conceptofadromosphere is withspeedthat “Gangnam Style” speed evenasitisitself moves beyondargumentsofculturalspace, locality, andlocation. ing sequences, andmusicality:thevideoreflectsreifiesamodernobsessionwithspeedthat uid spatialityofaculturalmodernitybutinits “thingness” becomes prizedasan objective. onymous conditions. Velocity gainsgreaterdominanceinliquidmodernityandspeeditself mation, bodies, andconsciousnessitself the characterizingstruggleofmodernity(2000:9). Duetomodernmeansofmobility fluids are, ontologically, inastateofmovement;timeandspace, asBaumanobserves, become ity ofprogressliquefiesculturaldistinction. Farmoreimportantly, liquidityimpactsspeedsince space dissolvesrapidly. As seenin “Gangnam Style,” thesolidityofspacesmeltsandveloc- In thisconditionofmeltingsolidsandgrowingfluidity, timeacquiresgreaterimportanceas The DromologicalCondition Speed l’armour desoi[self-love]”l’armour (Bauman2000:181). “in here,” acommunityofsimilarity, isessentially, then, anarcissisticventure ger ofdifference. Suchareconstructionofthe “out there” madeintothefamiliarlikenessof or “alike” andidenticalsoastorepelpushbackwhatisperceivedbethethreatdan- modity. Inthatactofconsumption, asBaumanhasobserved, whatis “outside” ismadefamiliar formulation ofOthersasfamiliarabstractionsthatcanbeconsumedlikeanyconsumercom- ness. ItisnotsimplyadesiretomakeOthernesssuperficiallyidenticaloneselfbutrather ple reproductionsofthe “Gangnam Style” techno-ritualisbornofaconsumptionforeign- In suchamilieu, geographical boundariesaresurpassedanderasedbytime. Inthedromo - This qualityofspeedthatisembodiedin “Gangnam Style” exemplifiesFrenchculturalthe- The celebrationofspeedisevidentin “Gangnam Style” notonlyinitsportrayaloftheliq- The postracial, postnationalistcommunitarianspiritseeminglycelebratedbythemulti-

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have becomeaccelerated. As aconsequence, theconceptionofduration, time, move- Speed andPolitics (1977), The Aesthetics ofDisappearance ([1980]1991), andOpenSky

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both asformandcontent, productandprocess. Recognizably, it established itsdominanceintheglobalcultureindustry.

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liquidity andspeedofmovementhavebecomesyn-

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a worldasphyxiatedbyspeedandarrested

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its visualvocabulary, rapidedit-

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“a projectionof propagates

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of infor - K-Contagion “Gangnam Style” 91 de-contextualized extracts, narrative segments, narrative segments, de-contextualized extracts,

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epitomize modernity’s extreme addiction to movement and speed. In an interview with epitomize modernity’s extreme addiction to movement and speed.

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The peer-sharing platform YouTube has not only transformed the music and film industries, music and film industries, has not only transformed the YouTube platform The peer-sharing and the endless string of related fragments that can be played continuously and looped intermi- and the endless string of related fragments that can be played continuously and looped nably John Armitage, Virilio observes how a shift from extensive to intensive time occurred with the Virilio Armitage, John capacity to people had to adapt their view a film, To Armitage 2001:76). advent of cinema (in this developments in cinematic technology, With comprehend images to 16 images per second. it can reach up to 60 frames per currently, frame rate accelerated to 24 frames per second and, YouTube With has also introduced 48 and 60 frames per second videos. YouTube second (76). contextless images and fleeting, with its shorter, time is compressed and extracted even further, redefines ways of comprehending time and its pop- YouTube In many respects, video sequences. but rather its as is commonly believed, nature, user-friendly ularity is not due to its interactive, speed (of dissemination and reception). evidence this dromological condition. The contagion of “Gangnam Style,” predicated on “Gangnam Style,” The contagion of evidence this dromological condition. is a product of the music video’s exploitation of speed. these hyperspeed modes of technology, revelry in speed as seen “Gangnam Style”’s perfectly fit ubiquity and instantaneity YouTube’s As testimony to this incredulous structure. in the song’s musicological and choreographic views on the first YouTube received more than 500,000 “Gangnam Style” rate of movement, “most as the Records World it entered the Guinness Book of months later, Two day of its release. Psy’s Six months after its release, million views per day. scoring an average of nine video, liked” As video with a billion views. YouTube made history by becoming the first “Gangnam Style” accumula- This rapid August 2014 the video had 2,073,581,000 hits (officialpsy 2012). of 20 period of time demonstrates the time compression tion of viewers over what is a relatively short and cultural it shows how speed dissolves geographical More significantly, in a dromosphere. “Gangnam Style”’s the e-connected world is proof that speed has viral spread throughout space. (Armitage 2001:83). “the categorical imperative of the modern world” become are performed and radically changed the way seeing and spectatorship more significantly, it has, Its distinguishing characteristics perceived. Figure 4. The Dromological Condition: “Gangnam Style” exemplifies how globalization is, as Paul Virilio Virilio Paul as is, globalization how exemplifies Style” “Gangnam Condition: Dromological The 4. Figure Entertainment © YG Style”; “Gangnam of video music official the from (Screenshot light. of speed the posits, reserved) rights All Inc. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26September 2021

92 Marcus Tan lated event, itaptlydemonstratestheviolenceofspeed. “Gangnam Style”’shorsetrots(seeHall2012). While thistragicomicincidentmaybeaniso- man fromBlackburn, hyperventilatedanddiedshortlyafterattemptingtokeepinstepwith active moves, outpaceslifeitself:On11December2012, EamonnKilbride, amiddle-aged but thehypervelocityof “Gangnam Style,” itsvigoroustempoaccompaniedbyequallyhyper verse: theypunctuatethevideo’sinterculturalnarrativewithanewuniversalvalue lights pulsingoverhead, movingtotherhythmofmusic, performmeta-theatricallythecon- tious popularityseemstocorroboratethevideo’sassertionof “one worldunderPsy,” thestrobe Gangnam Style,” withPsyreferringtohimselfinthethirdperson). While thedance’sinfec- similar tothesong’spopularrefrain: “Oppan GangnamStyle” (translatedas “Big Brotheris metic differences, everyoneis, disconcertingly, “Gangnam.” This readingisalsoparatextually conscious performanceof “Gangnam Style”’suniversalityandglobalismwhere, beneathcos- sensorial comprehension. “Gangnam Style” movesatthespeedoflight pressed timeofrapidlytransformingimages, scenes, texts, andcontextsacceleratesbeyond repeated editingsequencereifiesconditionsofthedromosphere:realspacemeltsascom- flash inanalternatingsequenceuntiltheydissolveandblendintoeachother. Thistwice- ground closetooverheadhighways(andinthesecondrefrain, twopeople before thefirstchorus, contrastcutsbetweentwospaces, theinteriorofatourbusandanopen In tandemwiththeincreasingtempothatclimaxesandthengrindstoadramaticpausejust other modesofdiscontinuouseditingdislocatetimeandspaceasmise-en-scèneschangeswiftly. ­video’s editing. Imagestransitioneverytwoseconds, andjumpcuts, contrastcuts, aswell 2004:291). This singular timeoftheintenselypresentisevidentinvideo’sviscous con- timesystem’ofthepresentinstant”cultural homogeneitybutadrive towardsa (Bartram “‘one and functionprovehow, inadromosphericliquidstate, globalizationisnot simplyeconomicor The musicvideo’sdissolutionofreal(cultural)spacesandits advocacy ofspeedbothinitsform trates howglobalizationnotonlymovesatbutis “the speedoflight” (Virilio in Armitage 2000). balization broughtaboutbyhigh-speedtele-visualtechnologies. Itspredicationonspeedillus- belief thatspeeddoesnotmerelychangetheworld, it “becomes theworld” (in Armitage 2000). This provocativeclosingsequenceinthevideoexemplifies, withcuriousaccuracy, Virilio’s cultural “one world,” thestrobelightscorporealize bodiesenslavedto, anddictatedby, speed. space ofcommunaldiversity. While therhythmatized culturallydiversebodiesconveyaninter the realspacesinhabitedbyviewers. The lightsandthe speedsatwhichtheyprojecterasethe lights sliceandseverthesedancingbodiesastheyshootpastthe virtualspaceofthedanceto of light. As bodiesmoverobustlyandrhythmicallytothesong, theswervingandshimmering a varietyofothertypes. The choreographyofclassdiversitycanberegardedasanovert, self- tional Koreandress), aboxer, adoctor, auniversitygraduate, achef, atrafficwarden, aswell ple fromvariouswalksoflife:a Taekwondo fighter, achambermaid, awomaninhanbok(tradi- gesture ofitsculturalideology, intentionalorotherwise, thisdiversecollectiveincludespeo- cultural imperative. Inthefinaleofvideo, Psydancesinsyncwithalargecrowdandas its imagery. Specificsequencesinthevideocouldbesaidtoadvocatespeedasnewglobal sistently titillatestheocularreflexwithitsline-of-sightperspective.

marked tempois126to132beatsperminute. published sheetmusictranscriptionsof “Gangnam Style” floatingincyberspace, thecommonly Style”’s speedofmotion. The “Gangnam Style” songitselfisfast. Inthenumerousself- 5.

In additiontotherapidrhythmsofsong, theconditionofspeedisalsobuiltinto “Gangnam Style” arguablyremainsoneofthemostevident commoditiesofculturalglo- Perhaps themostsalientcharacteristicof “Gangnam Style” thatdissolvesculturalspaceis The rapid-firevisualimageryofthe YouTube videoisinsufficientinexplaining “Gangnam For some examples see Online Sheet Music (2014) and Musicnotes, Inc. (2014). 5 Sucharhythmicpaceiscertainlyconsideredfast

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Psy andHyuna),

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the speed ­ - ­ - - K-Contagion “Gangnam Style” 93 a

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an “everywhere an

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distances, depth of field, depth of field, distances, a condition where local a condition where local

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a condition in which the classical per

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have been replaced in large-scale optics with real-time have been replaced in large-scale optics with

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that dominates the real and digital worlds. More significantly, its speedy appear More significantly, that dominates the real and digital worlds.

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(1997), Virilio writes about modernity’s dislocated memory as a consequence of writes Virilio (1997), Open Sky

In In “Gangnam Style,” this amalgamation of the local and global as the glocal logic of speed is this amalgamation of the local and “Gangnam Style,” In Occupying and moving in this space of speed, “Gangnam Style”’s expeditious rise to fame is Occupying and moving in this space of speed, images that move at the speed of light and eradicate spatial distance. The consequence of this eradicate spatial distance. images that move at the speed of light and “trans-appearance” or “trans-apparent horizon” is a “near versus far,” “here and there” “near versus far,” the changing nature of perspective due to the incessant developments in optical technologies. the incessant developments in optical technologies. the changing nature of perspective due to [1997:35]) “active optics” terms Virilio (or what Perception has changed as large-scale optics of lin- passive optics replaced the small-scale, accompanying digital and virtual media have “horizons” comprehending The human capacity for ear perspective. Forgetting Gangnam Style Forgetting little more recognizably, it is, phenomenon, Even as Gangnam Style remains a pop cultural and context- “silliness” It promotes sameness as than another icon of the culture industry. culture of speed and propelled by endless accel- Consumed by this “universal.” less inanity as obsession the music video’s instantaneous rise and demise is a reminder of a global eration, readily con- entertaining, amusing, which is always funky, with the next bit of consumer kitsch, such speeds render in this culture of consumerism, Consequently, and easily forgotten. sumed, forgetting imperative. singular time of the instant present. As Virilio describes, globalization and virtualization have virtualization have globalization and describes, Virilio As of the instant present. singular time erases real spaces with that dissolves and of the instantaneous a new universal time engendered time and dictates local global time dominates This cyberspace. of multimedia and a global time temporalities and in the past as local in which history unfolded changing the way and space, believes, Virilio as has resulted in, with speed and the instantaneous Such an obsession spaces. 1999) (in Purser “glocal” with “global” term the need to replace the present moment. “one time” in the and global spaces collapse in its mode of trans- posited, as earlier the final scene of the video but, performed not only as reifies the around the world, in various real spaces of the dance, Every repetition mission. a dis- of this revelry in speed, What is performed is a re-enactment time. condition of a global Despite the superficial spaces. between scopic cyberspace and real solution of the boundaries exist as homages to the architectonic these parodic imitations “ur text,” differences with the 1996:186) and engulfs both (Hanes “virtual totalization” that reaches structure of technology real space. chronological time and tagion and the numerous, almost-instantaneous re-productions across the world that further the world that further across re-productions almost-instantaneous the numerous, tagion and of temporality under a single form modernity collapses the history of liquid establish how spective of time and place, including physical and cultural horizons, is superseded by fleeting including physical and cultural horizons, spective of time and place, Modernity’s embrace of such generated by electronic and digital media. “trans-appearances” of collective imagina- has resulted in a radical reconfiguration YouTube) technologies (such as matter; there and history no longer duration, real spaces, Physical horizons, tion and memory. or what (36) conjured by speed technologies, “telepresent” is only the intense present or the and the instantaneous The intensity of time-compression terms real-time technologies. Virilio and the disrupt serious reflection and creative imagination; it creates societies where the future to past make no temporal sense because they no longer have the sense of space and duration consequence of this trans-appearance and indirect visibility The practical comprehend memory. ‘civilization of forgetting’” (36). “incredible possibility of a is the “here and the hypermodern dislocated time-compression, Its a phenomenon difficult to ignore. its acultural spaces and global rhythms reverberate with a telepresence now,” at once” and cultural ance and disappearance exemplify modernity’s condition of a collective forgetting and embodying speed As a product of speed technologies, dementia in a liquid global world. already heralded its own rapid demise; such is the the video’s precipitous fame always itself, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430 by guest on 26September 2021

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96 Marcus Tan http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/suppl/10.1162/DRAM_a_00430. To view supplementalmediarelatedtothisarticle, pleasevisit Williams, Nick. 2012. “The 10Best ‘Gangnam Style’Parodies.” Billboard.com , 19September. Accessed Virilio, Paul. 2000. “The Kosovo War Took PlaceinOrbitalSpace.” Trans. PatriceRiemens. Ctheory.net , Virilio, Paul. 1997. OpenSky.London: Verso. Virilio, Paul. (1980)1991. The Aesthetics ofDisappearance . Trans. P. Beitchman. New York: Semiotext(e). Virilio, Paul. (1977)2006. SpeedandPolitics. Trans. MarkPolizzotti. Los Angeles: Semiotext(e). Telegraph, The. 2012b. “UN’s BanKi-moondancesGangnamStylewithK-Pop’sPsy.” 24October. Accessed Telegraph, The. 2012a. “Boris Johnson:DavidCameronandIhavedancedGangnamStyle.” 9October. -style-parodies. 2013.23 June www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/475025/the-10-best-gangnam 18 October. Accessed 20May2013. www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=132. -moon-dances-Gangnam-Style-with-K-Pops-Psy.html. 24 September2014. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/celebrity-news-video/9629806/UNs-Ban-Ki -David-Cameron-and-I-have-danced-Gangnam-style.html. Accessed 24September2014. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/9596071/Boris-Johnson