Korea Observer

By JONATHAN HICAP Seoul, South Korea – The first broadcasting theme park in South Korea is now open and it will let you interact with your favorite K-pop stars, actors and actresses in a virtual setting.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin American rapper Snoop Dogg is set to appear in the new music video of rapper Psy. This was relayed by YG Entertainment via its official blog site, YG Life, noting Snoop’s recent visit to South Korea. Psy with Snoop Dogg and G-Dragon (courtesy of YG Life, Psy’s Twitter and Internet community site)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin The Gwiyomi song, “Harlem Shake,” breaking news including the explosions at Boston Marathon, natural disasters including typhoon “Yolanda” and silly memes defined the viewing experience on YouTube in the Philippines for 2013. The viewing experience on YouTube for 2013 in the Philippines was defined by (clockwise from top left) Gwiyomi craze, ‘Harlem Shake,’ Psy’s ‘Gentleman,’ Lee Grane on ‘The Voice of the Philippines,’ Ylvis’ ‘The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)’ and typhoon ‘Yolanda’ (Screen capture by Bulletin Entertainment)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin K-pop acts Girls’ Generation and Psy bagged nominations in the first-ever YouTube Music Awards. “These video and artist nominations are based on YOUR views, likes, comments and subscriptions over the last 12 months from September 2012,” according to YouTube’s official blog. Girls’ Generation and Psy (Photos courtesy of SMTOWN Facebook page and YG Entertainment)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Pop star Justin Bieber held his Believe Tour concert in Seoul last night and surprised the audience when he called Big Bang’s G-Dragon on stage as his guest. Justin Bieber, Psy and G-Dragon in Seoul (Photo courtesy of Scooter Braun’s Instagram)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin K-pop star G-Dragon's dream came true when he performed with Grammy-winning rapper Missy Elliott on stage. The two heated up KCON, the K-pop convention in Los Angeles, over the weekend when they sang together G-Dragon's new song for his new upcoming album "Coup d'etat."

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Girls' Generation dominated albums sales in Korea while rappers Psy and Baechigi led in digital rankings for the first half of 2013. Gaon Chart, Korea's version of Billboard, has released the rankings for January to June 2013 of album sales, digital singles and online downloads. (Clockwise from the top) Girls' Generation, Psy and Baechigi (Photos by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin A year ago yesterday, Korean rapper Psy released a quirky and funny music video titled "Gangnam Style" on YouTube that featured a horse-riding dance. "Gangnam Style" was the title track of Psy's new album "Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1," which was also released on July 15, 2012. Psy performing in Korea, on the "Ellen Show" and gracing the Billboard magazine. (Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com, "Ellen" show and Billboard)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy was awarded the Viral Video of the Year for his global hit "Gangnam Style" at the MuchMusic Video Awards 2013 held in Toronto, Canada on June 16 (June 17 in Manila). Psy, who co-hosted the awards, opened the show with "Gangnam Style" and closed it with "Gentleman."

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  Korean rapper Psy spread his “Gentleman” fever in Europe when he performed at the finale of “Germany's Next Top Model” and “The Voice of Italy.” Psy got reunited with supermodel Heidi Klum, who is the host of “Germany’s Next Top Model,” on the show. Psy with Heidi Klum (Photo from Psy's Twitter account)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy got a taste of Italian inhospitality when he was booed by the audience at the Coppa Italia football finals between clubs Lazio and Roma last May 26.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy will be performing his latest single "Gentleman" at the finale of "American Idol," which will be aired in the US on May 16. The finale of the FOX show will decide who will be crowned as the new "American Idol" between finalists Candice Glover and Knee Harrison. Besides Psy, other performers at the finale are former "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez and current judges Keith Urban and Mariah Carey, according to the "Idol" blog mjsbigblog. Psy at Harvard (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard News Office and Harvard Magazine)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy attended the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual gala in New York City on May 6 (May 7 in Manila) that drew Hollywood celebrities including Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Swift, Emma Watson and Kanye West. At the event, Psy met and had a picture taken with Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy flew to the US on April 25 to start promoting his new song "Gentleman." "I'm coming US!! #OnceAgain #Gentleman," he tweeted.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy grabbed six nominations in the 2013 Billboard Music Awards including Top New Artist and Top Streaming Song for his hit single "Gangnam Style." Billboard announced the nominees for this year's awards, which will be held on May 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy's "Gentleman" music video has reached a milestone, achieving 100 million views and more than 1 million likes since it was uploaded on YouTube on April 13. The music video achieved the feat this morning and it continues to rack up more than one million views per hour. Photos by YG Entertainment

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy unveiled the much-anticipated music video for his new single “Gentleman” last April 13 and in just 24 hours, it set a record of more than 20 million views on YouTube. The music video was uploaded on YouTube at about 8 p.m. on Saturday and, in just 12 hours, it already had 4.28 million views.

Psy tweeted today a GIF pertaining to his follow-up single "Gentleman."  Email me at sangchusan(at)gmail.com