South Korean rapper Psy brought his hit "Gangnam Style" home on Thursday with a raucous free concert in Seoul, capping a month of global chart success that turned the rapper into a national hero.
Thursday's concert climaxed with the entire crowd horse dancing to "Gangnam Style," but it kicked off with a mass rendition of Korean national anthem.
Gangnam Style, a paean to the lush life in Korea's richest distrcit, is topping the charts in the US and Britain and is heard and seen on screens all over Korea. Psy had previously said that if Gangnam Style hits top of the Billboard chart, he would have a concert in front of a crowd in Seoul City Hall Plaza. However, Maroon 5 has denied Psy that privilege with their song One More Night keeping Psy at second place. Although he did not reach number 1, he kept his word anyway in order to thank his fans.
The Seoul Style performance was live-streamed to millions of others across the globe via YouTube. Psy told his adoring compatriots that he did not return and open a free concert because he was worthy of it, but he was there because of all of his fans. However, more than 20,000 fans overloaded the servers and as a result, I was unable to see the concert live.
Although I had to see it later on, I realized how popular Psy really was. The municipal government even closed off part of the city centre and extended subway operations for the estimated 80,000 fans who packed the open venue outside Seoul City hall and spilled out into the surrounding streets.
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