It's been 15 days since Psy's "Gangnam Style", a song with a funny "horse dance" choreography, catchy lyrics, and a great melody, came out for the first time.

On the same day, an article called "Gangnam Style at 10 years old: How Psy's hit song introduced Korean culture to the world" was posted on the US CNN website. It talked about how this song has affected Korean culture in general and what's going on with Psy right now.

Today marks 10 years since "Gangnam Style", the title song of Psy's sixth full-length album "Psy 6th Part 1", was released. Since then, a funny music video and a unique "horse dance" have become very popular.

With this song, Psy went straight to second place on Billboard's main singles chart, "Hot 100." At the time, K-pop singers thought of this as a "evil barrier."

For the first time in YouTube's history, a single video of the song got more than 1 billion views. This made Psy one of the "international singers." In April, more than 4.4 billion people watched the music video for Gangnam Style.

CNN said, "The song's success is considered to be the main catalyst of the so-called 'Korean Wave', a term that refers to the recent global spread of Korean culture."

A professor of liberal arts at Korea's George Mason University named Lee Gyu Tak is an expert on K-pop. He told CNN that Gangnam Style was a turning point for Korean pop culture outside of East Asia.

He said, "This strategy of word-of-mouth through Internet media like YouTube has made K-pop and Hallyu very popular, and they are starting to become known outside of Korea as well. He said that he was doing the same thing as his father".

He also said, "If it weren't for Gangnam Style's big hit, BTS and BLACKPINK wouldn't exist". CNN said that BTS is thanking Psy by mentioning him often as someone who helped spread K-pop around the world. Psy also said that BTS was very important to him.

Psy praised BTS's global success in an interview with CNN before the 10th anniversary of Gangnam Style's release. He said, "The pressure I felt in 2012, BTS has been carrying for 6-7 years."

He said that when Gangnam Style was popular all over the world, he was happy and excited, but he also felt an inner emptiness and too much pressure.

He kept going, "If a song does well, your next song should also do well. But if people become well-known, their success is more likely to last." He also said, "BTS is the latter, I'm the former."

CNN said that Psy's next song didn't do as well as Gangnam Style, but he tried to show that he was a good musician and dancer by putting out three full-length albums in the last 10 years. He said that he was doing a lot of different things.

He also said that Psy, who just put out his ninth full-length album, is still communicating directly with Korean audiences through his "Drenched Show" summer concert.

Psy said, "My mission hasn't changed, not even after Gangnam Style. I want to make fans happy by making and dancing to interesting music. I had the same feelings 10 years ago, and I will have the same feelings 20 years from now".

Source[1]

After Kim Ji Won’s unexpected departure from Salt Entertainment, it now seems that Kim Seon Ho will also be leaving the agency.

Both stars are reportedly headed to High Zium Studio, the agency run by Song Joong Ki, and this news is stirring up plenty of buzz. What’s behind this wave of talent moving away from Salt?

Kim Ji Won, who signed with Salt Entertainment in 2020, made headlines in June 2022 when she suddenly announced her departure after finishing the drama My Liberation Notes. While the official statement wished her the best, many insiders speculated about the reasons behind the split.

Some rumors suggested that Kim Ji Won was unhappy with her role in the drama, especially for being overshadowed by her co-star, Son Seok Koo. Others believed that Salt made mistakes by trusting writer Park Hae Young too much when signing the project.

Now, just two years after Kim Ji Won’s departure, Kim Seon Ho is reportedly set to follow in her footsteps and leave Salt Entertainment for High Zium Studio. Although High Zium has denied confirming any contract details, insiders believe it’s almost certain that the actor will make the move.

For Salt, this is a huge blow, especially since Kim Seon Ho has become a popular star in Southeast Asia, which helped the agency rake in significant revenue.

An entertainment insider shared, "Salt worked hard to build connections in Southeast Asia for Kim Seon Ho, thanks to Park Shin Hye’s network. It was a successful partnership, but now it looks like they’re parting ways."

Salt’s connections in countries like Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia were largely due to Park Shin Hye’s previous fan meetings and events there. These efforts helped Kim Seon Ho rise to stardom in Southeast Asia, but Salt couldn’t secure a contract extension.

Salt also managed to protect Kim Seon Ho’s reputation during his 2021 scandal with weathercaster Choi Young Ah.

After Choi Young Ah’s false claims about pregnancy and abortion, public opinion shifted in Kim Seon Ho’s favor. The agency’s handling of the situation earned them praise, but despite their efforts, they couldn’t keep their rising star.

A manager with years of experience in the industry shared, "The loyalty of extending contracts for 1-2 years after a 7-year contract ends is disappearing. Agencies are under pressure due to the economic downturn, and more companies are being listed, making it harder to maintain these long-term relationships."

With Kim Seon Ho and Kim Ji Won leaving, many are wondering if Salt can bounce back from this blow or if High Zium Studio will continue to attract more talent from under their noses.

Source: [1]