HindustanTimes Fri,26 Dec 2014

Gangnam Style singer Psy apologizes for anti-US songs

AP   December 08, 2012
First Published: 08:03 IST(8/12/2012) | Last Updated: 08:13 IST(8/12/2012)

South Korean rapper and Internet sensation PSY is apologizing to Americans for participating in anti-US protests several years ago.


Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a statement on Friday after reports surfaced that he had participated in concerts protesting the US military presence in South Korea during the early stages of the Iraq war.

At a 2004 concert, the Gangnam Style rapper performs a song with lyrics about killing Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives and their families "slowly and painfully." In another protest, he smashed a model of a US tank on stage.



The 34-year-old rapper says the protests were part of a "deeply emotional" reaction to the war and the death of two Korean school girls, who were killed when a US military vehicle hit them as they walked alongside the road. He noted antiwar sentiment was high around the world at the time.

PSY attended college in the US and says he understands the sacrifices US military members have made to protect South Korea and other nations. He has recently performed in front of servicemen and women.



His participation in the protests was no secret in South Korea, where the US has had a large military presence since the Korean War, but was not generally known in America until recent news reports.



PSY launched to international acclaim based on the viral nature of his Gangnam Style video.

It became YouTube's most watched video, making him a millionaire who freely crossed cultural boundaries around the world. Much of that success has happened in the US, where the rapper has managed to weave himself into pop culture.







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