All about Psy

Rapper Psy performs during a concert held to celebrate “Gangnam Style” being ranked 2nd on the U.S. Billboard Chart at Seoul Plaza on Oct. 4, 2012. Korea Times file

By Park Si-soo

How much do you know about rapper Psy?

The 36-year-old Korean singer is obviously an “international” entertainer. But perhaps what many of his non-Korean fans worldwide know about him is just his YouTube megahit “Gangnam Style,” and his latest performances, and gossip that has spread through the Internet.

Just a few clicks may be enough to find what he has said and done recently because countless numbers of articles, photos and video clips about the singer flood the Internet in multiple languages day after day. But it’s still difficult for people to get information about him prior to his meteoric rise late last year as most of it is in Korean. He made his debut in 2001 and his track record since then is vast.

Avid fans with ample knowledge about him, despite language barrier, may find little new in the telling of the singer’s life in chronological order. For those who don’t, however, it will enable them to see a snapshot of a life as full of ups and downs as a wild roller coaster.

Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, was born on Dec. 31, 1977, to a wealthy family in Seoul. His father, Park Won-ho, is chairman of DI Corporation, a Korea Exchange-listed manufacturer of semiconductor parts founded by Psy’s grandfather. His mother, Kim Young-hee, owns several upscale restaurants in Gangnam.

The young Park was a troublemaker in his childhood.

“I remember Psy making a lot of sexual jokes during class. He had such a big influence that he would draw the attention of the entire class with his jokes,” a former teacher of his at Banpo Middle School was quoted as saying in a TV interview in October. disliked him at that time. But looking back, I see that he added a great energy to the class.”

After graduating from Sehwa High School, Park left for the United States in 1996 to study business administration at Boston University, to prepare to succeed to his father’s seat. With no interest in study, he dropped out of the school without the approval of his parents and instead applied to the Berklee College of Music.

He purchased musical instruments using part of the tuition funds his parents sent for him to study at Boston University. His uncontrolled life in Boston was over when his parents unexpectedly visited without prior notice. Enraged by his son’s misdeeds, the senior Park forced his son to drop out of music college and brought him back home.

However, it seems Park had little interest in studying music either. Berklee College of Music President Roger H. Brown said in an interview that he appeared in the classroom only five times during his time at the college.

In January 2001, he debuted with his first album, “Psy from the Psycho World,” for which he was fined for the album’s content considered “inappropriate” for teenage listeners. Despite that, he stirred up the Korean pop music scene with his blunt lyrics, peculiar dance moves and an unconventional appearance that earned him the nickname, “The Bizarre Singer.”

His second album also created controversy upon its release in 2002, earning complaints from civil groups due to the potentially negative influence his album could have on children and teenagers. Since then, Psy has been thought of as a controversial artist. The second album was restricted in 2002 to be sold only to people aged 20 and above.

In November 2001, he was prosecuted for smoking marijuana and given a suspended jail term. In 2006, Psy married Yoo Hye-yeon and the couple has twin daughters.

It is widely known he had to enlist in Korea’s mandatory military twice after being embroiled in a draft-dodging scandal. Able-bodied Korean men aged 18 or older are required to fulfill their military service for nearly two years, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Park first enlisted in 2003, but worked at a software company as an alternative to serving in the military. He was discharged from duty in 2005 and released his fourth album as Psy the following year.

In 2007, state prosecutors found Park fraudulently evaded the draft after his uncle bribed the head of the software company to help the unqualified singer obtain a job there. In addition, he was confirmed to have neglected even that duty by performing in more than 52 concerts and appearing on TV shows during the time.

In October 2007, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled he must be redrafted, rejecting a lawsuit filed by him against the Military Manpower Administration. Two months later, Park was re-drafted and served as a signalman in the 52nd Army Infantry Division, before being discharged in July 2009.

In July of last year, the sixth Psy album was released, including “Gangnam Style,” which became a YouTube megahit. He is scheduled to release his next album worldwide on April 13, aiming for a repeat of last year’s success.

He said in an interview that when he learned top stars were talking and tweeting about him, he thought it was a joke.

“I never expect things like this, not because they are top stars but because this is the biggest market in the universe for pop music, right, so everybody’s dreaming about having an appearance in the U.S. So I’m still saying, ‘What am I doing here? This is beautiful.’”

Left photo shows Psy’s student card at Berklee College of Music in Boston. His real name is Park Jae-sang but the card identifies him as Jai-sang. In the right photo, Psy poses at an Army boot camp in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, in December 2007. He was re-enlisted for being negligent of his duties during his first military service. Korea Times file