Psy wanted for North Korea concerts with other K-pop stars, but Pyongyang opposes singer’s provocative style
Nine South Korean pop acts are set to visit North Korea next week for two concerts in Pyongyang, the first of their kind for more than a decade, and organisers want the rapper to appear too
Seoul is pushing for Gangnam Style star Psy to perform in next week’s historic concerts by South Korean artists in the North’s capital, multiple reports said.
A team of at least nine South Korean pop acts are set to visit North Korea next week for two concerts in Pyongyang, the first of their kind for more than a decade.
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The shows – part of reconciliatory moves ahead of a planned inter-Korean summit in April – feature many top stars including K-pop girl band Red Velvet.
But Seoul is also seeking to include Psy in the line-up, South Korean media reports said, citing sources in the government and the K-pop industry. The 40-year-old rapper/singer became an international sensation in 2012 when his wacky but catchy Gangnam Style music video went viral on YouTube, pushing him into global stardom.
The song satirises the lifestyle of the wealthy denizens of Gangnam in Seoul, the South’s richest district, and the video has been viewed more than three billion times, spawning a host of imitations.
“We have formally proposed to the North to add Psy to the line-up,” Seoul’s MBC TV station on Sunday quoted a Seoul government official as saying.