365 Inspirations—Two: PSY "Gangnam Style"

"I wanted to make them forget, just for a moment even, about their immediate troubles, and to entertain them the way entertainment should be all about..."—PSY

This Korean guy is getting the entire world to dance like a horse setting off flashmobs worldwide. He broke a Guinness Book World Record for over a billion hits on You Tube. He's making people dance and laugh....how can you NOT like someone who is doing this on a massive scale?

I'm not jumping on the  "PSY band wagon." I have a reason for liking this Korean one-hit wonder. First, I used to live in "Gangnam" (By the way, the "a" sounds in this word are open like opening your mouth and saying "ahhh" when you go to the doctor). Gangnam is a trendy, upscale district in Seoul and my husband and I used to have a yoga studio there as well as one in Seongnam, in the suburbs of Seoul.

The second reason I like PSY is that he is doing something completely different than what I have seen coming out of Korea and in the K-pop scene. I don't follow it too much because I feel much of it is the same.

To find someone who has done something unique and different in the music scene in Korea is really quite amazing and to become a phenomenon worldwide in a completely different language is unheard of, really. Even if I didn't like the song, I have to give this guy credit for becoming the phenomenon that he is.

The thing is, the video and song are kind of catchy and before long I find myself actually trying to do this crazy horse dance. Here's our attempt in Las Vegas to start a flashmob.

The other thing I like about PSY is that he's smart and he's following his own path. He went to Berkeley School of Music and then dropped out because he felt like he could accomplish more on his own (this is sort of reminiscent of all the great people I know: i.e. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, etc.) I'm not advocating dropping out of school, but there are some people who are meant to follow their own paths and ideas. They are the "leaders" and often the "changers" of a society.

PSY locked himself away for an entire year to compose music and only came out to get gas and food on occasion. I heard him speak of his success to a group of Oxford University students and was quite impressed not only with his ability to speak English, but also his willingness to share and inspire others with his journey.

I'm sure the craze will die down and who knows if this Korean will ever have another hit, but he had ONE HIT and that's all it took get the entire world to dance like a horse. Now that's something!