Psy brings Gangnam Style to Australia

THE man at the centre of the Gangnam Style craze, 34-year-old Korean rapper Psy, arrived in Australia still struggling to fathom his role as the poster boy of K-Pop.

“It’s a huge surprise personally and all over Korea because it never happened before to my country and everyone’s looking to me,” Psy told AAP in Sydney on Tuesday.

So far Gangnam Style has topped the charts in 33 countries, including Australia and Britain.

It was named after the Seoul district Gangnam where Psy was born, poking fun at the posers who flexed muscles, good looks and money – all the things Psy never had growing up.

Born Park Jae-sang, Psy – short for ‘psycho’ – has been a successful pop star in Korea for a decade.

But he had no idea what was about to happen when he uploaded Gangnam Style to YouTube back in June.

Within weeks it was circulating on Twitter and attracting celebrity backers such as Katy Perry, Britney Spears and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who heralded the song a “force for world peace”.

Gangnam Style’s galloping dance moves have become a viral sensation, inspiring hundreds of tributes and parodies but Psy says his wacky style is nothing new.

“To the world this is a new dance move but in Korea it’s just another of Psy’s dance moves,” he says.

Demand for the singer is high with tickets to a show in Sydney this week on sale for $150. He will also perform on Sunrise and The X Factor.

GANGNAM OZ STYLE: South Korean pop artist Psy, Jae-Sang Park, poses for photographs in Sydney, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. Psy, who is an internet sensation with the song Gangnam Style, is in Australia for a series of television appearances. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)