Park Jae-sang (Hangul: ; Hanja: ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (

, IPA: [ssai]; /sa/ SY), stylized PSY, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known
domestically for his humorous videos and stage performances, and internationally for his hit single "Gangnam Style".
The song's refrain was entered into The Yale Book of Quotations as one of the most famous quotations of 2012.[2]
On October 23, 2012, Psy met United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN Headquarters where Ban
expressed his desire to work with the singer because of his "unlimited global reach". [3] On December 21, 2012, his music
video for "Gangnam Style" exceeded one billion views on YouTube, becoming the first video to do so in the website's
history.[4][5] Psy was subsequently recognized by the media as the "King of YouTube". [6][7][8] On May 31, 2014, the video for
Psy's Gangnam Style hit two billion views. As of July 2017, it is the second most viewed video on YouTube, with over
2.89 billion views.[9]
In December 2012, MTV noted Psy's rise from being little known outside South Korea, to being hailed as the "Viral Star
of 2012".[10] On December 31, 2012, Psy performed in a globally televised New Year's Eve celebration with American
rapper MC Hammer on-stage in front of a live audience of over a million people in Times Square, New York City.[11][12]

Contents
[hide]

1Biography

o 1.1197795: Early life

o 1.219962000: Brief study in the United States and career beginnings

o 1.3200102: Psy from the Psycho World!, controversy, and domestic success

o 1.4200309: Military service, Ssajib, and re-enlistment

o 1.5201012: 5th studio album and debut performance in Japan

o 1.6201213: "Gangnam Style" and unexpected international breakthrough

o 1.72013present: "Gentleman", "Hangover", YouTube record

2Artistry

o 2.1Influences

o 2.2Public image

3Legacy

4Personal life

o 4.1Legal issues

o 4.2Views on North Korea

5Controversy

o 5.1Anti-American performances and subsequent apology

o 5.2Malaysian political rally

o 5.3Questionable song title and revision of lyrics

6Reported earnings

7Discography
 8Awards and nominations

9Filmography

o 9.1Television

o 9.2Film

o 9.3Music video appearances

10See also

11References

12External links

Biography

Psy with the Gangnam Style logo

197795: Early life

Park Jae-sang was born on December 31, 1977,[13] to an affluent family in the Gangnam District of Seoul, South Korea.
[14]
His father, Park Won-Ho, is the executive chairman of DI Corporation, a manufacturer of semiconductor
manufacturing equipment listed on the Korea Exchange.[15] His mother, Kim Young-hee, owns several restaurants in
Gangnam.[16]
Park attended Banpo () Elementary and Middle Schools and Sehwa () High School.[17] He disliked school and
was known as the class clown. In an interview on South Korea's Seoul Broadcasting System, a former teacher of Park
said: "I remember Psy making a lot of sexual jokes during class. He had such a big influence that he would drive the
entire class to his jokes. I disliked him at the time, but looking back, I see that he added a great energy to the class." [18]
Park told CNN's Alina Cho that when he was 15 years old, he watched a Korean TV programme that introduced foreign
pop music. One particular episode showed a concert at Wembley Stadium held by the British rock band Queen where
they performed their 1975 hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody". Park said it was this concert footage that sparked his love
for music.[19]

19962000: Brief study in the United States and career

beginnings
As part of preparations to take over DI Corporation from his father, Park had originally planned to study business
administration at Boston University in 1996.[20]However, upon his arrival in the United States, he lost interest in his
studies,[21] spending his remaining tuition funds on musical instruments and entertainment equipment, including a
computer, an electric keyboard, and a MIDI interface.[22] After attending an English-language summer course and
studying for one semester, Park dropped out of Boston University and applied to study at Berklee College of
Music instead. During his time at Berklee, Park took core curriculum lessons in ear training, contemporary writing and
music synthesis, but he soon dropped out and returned to South Korea to pursue a career as a singer, without having
attained a degree from either Boston University or Berklee. [23][24][25]
In South Korea, Psy made his first appearance on Korean national television in 2000 after his dancing caught the eye of
a TV producer.[26]
200102: Psy from the Psycho World!, controversy, and domestic
success
In January 2001, Psy debuted his full-length album Psy from the Psycho World!, for which he was fined by South
Korean government authorities due to his album's "inappropriate content". [27] Psy was a rookie hip hop singer that stirred
up the Korean pop music scene with very blunt lyrics, peculiar dance moves and an unconventional appearance that
earned him the nickname "The Bizarre Singer".[28][29][30]
His second album Sa 2 also created controversy upon its release in 2002, earning complaints from civil groups due to
the potentially negative influence his album would have on children and teenagers. Since then, Psy has been thought of
as a controversial artist, and Sa 2 was banned in 2002 from being sold to the under-19 set. In September of the same
year, Psy released his third album 3 Psy. The album's title song, "Champion", saw great success partly due to the hype
from the World Cup games held in Seoul. Despite the significant amount of controversy surrounding his music, Psy was
awarded songwriting accolades at the annual Seoul Music Awards, marking his breakthrough in the South Korean
music industry.[31]

200309: Military service, Ssajib, and re-enlistment

In 2003, Psy was conscripted into the South Korean military as part of mandatory military service imposed on all South
Korean men aged 18 to 35.[32][33] Psy was excused from military duty due to working at a software development company
(the South Korean government grants exemptions to those with technical expertise work in companies that serve the
national interest). He was expected to be released from duties in 2005. [34] In 2006, Psy released his fourth album Ssajib,
which won honors at the 2006 SBS Music Awards and Hong Kong's Mnet Asian Music Awards.[31]
In 2007, state prosecutors accused Psy of "neglecting" his work, holding concerts and appearing on local television
networks during his period of prior employment.[35] On October 12, 2007, the Seoul Administrative Court decided that Psy
must be redrafted, rejecting a lawsuit filed by Psy against the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) in August. Two
months later, Psy was re-drafted into the military where he had held the rank of Private First Class and served as
a signalman in the 52nd Army Infantry Division, before being released from duties in July 2009.[36][37]

201012: 5th studio album and debut performance in Japan

Owing to financial difficulties, Psy could no longer release his own songs. His wife encouraged him to join the South
Korean music label YG Entertainment, whose founder and chief executive officer Yang Hyun-suk was an old friend of
Psy's.[38] In 2010, Psy joined YG Entertainment.[39] The K-pop singer Kim Heechul, from the boyband Super Junior,
expressed that he had wished Psy would have joined his group's label SM Entertainment instead.[40] Psy released his
fifth album PsyFive in 2010, and its lead single "Right Now" was banned from under-19 audiences by South
Korea's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for what it deemed an "obscene" lyric, "Life is like toxic alcohol".
[41]
Despite the ban, Psy received awards during the 2011 Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards.[31] Psy
had, up until this point, topped domestic music charts half a dozen times throughout his twelve-year career in South
Korea.[42]
On January 7, 2012, Psy performed alongside K-pop bands Bigbang and 2NE1 in front of 80,000 Japanese fans during
the YG Family Concert in Osaka. His performance was broadcast by Mezamashi TV(mezamashi meaning "wake-up
alarm"), a Japanese news magazine show produced by Fuji Television. This marked his first appearance on a foreign
broadcasting network.[43] During the concert, Psy introduced himself to his Japanese fans with a sign that read "I'm a
famous singer well known for driving the audience wild in Korea, but here, today, I'm just a little chubby newcomer" and
sang five of his hit songs while Japanese TV commentators expressed their approval in their astonishment at his
humorous incorporation of the moves of Lady Gaga and Beyonc.[44]