On April 18th, an Open Radio for North Korea’s source in North Korea said, “Inflation of food prices because of the hardship period and war tensions are making people’s lives harder. However, South Korean dramas and foreign movies are prevalent.” The source added, “The music video of Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ is very popular.”

 

The source reported that, “North Korean people, who do smuggling in border areas or visit China, know ‘Gangnam Style,’ and among North Korean teenage boys, ‘Gangnam Style’ dance is spreading.”

 

Teenagers, who are learning the dance, said that they learn the dance by watching the ‘Gangnam Style’ music video with their friends. Even though their parents prevent them from watching the music video just in case they get caught by the regime, teenagers think that if they are cautious about control of the regime, it would be okay. 

 

A source reported, “Teenagers cannot dance ‘Gangnam Style’ directly in public. They follow the dance by mixing it with other random dances with their friends in playgrounds, so that they can avoid being caught. That is why the dance is spreading more.”

 

When a reporter asked why Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ is popular in North Korea, the source answered, “North Korean adults and children were imitating the running horse, which appears in the music video, because Psy’s dance is similar to general behavior, so it is familiar and easy for North Korean people to learn.”

 

The source revealed how the media is passing into Korea: “Crews of trains to Pyongyang, which pass through the border, buy CDs of South Korean dramas, foreign movies, and the ‘Gangnam Style’ music video secretly through acquaintances in border areas and circulate it in Pyongyang.”

 

The source also added, “The smuggling price of those CDs from China is different depending on the areas and kinds of material. Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ music video currently costs 2 Chinese yuan in China, and it is circulating in North Korea at 2.5 yuan.”