The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Psy included in Encyclopedia Britannica

By 조정은

Published : May 1, 2013 - 20:43

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K-pop sensation Psy was added to the annals of history Wednesday when his name was officially included in the Encyclopedia Britannica, its Web site showed.  

The online version of the English-language encyclopedia introduces Psy as the "South Korean singer and rapper" who "achieved international fame" last year with the humorous music video to his pop song "Gangnam Style."

Though the 36-year-old singer, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, was originally known in his home country as a "controversial and satirical hip-hop artist," he rose to stardom with his signature horse-riding dance and global megahit, which went on to receive a record-setting 1 billion views on the video-sharing Web site YouTube, the Web site said.

Britannica is known as the oldest English-language encyclopedia that is still in publication, and launched its online version in March this year.

Meanwhile, a comic book that depicts the story of Psy's success as well as some of his darkest moments went on sale in his home country and the United States Wednesday.

The 26-page comic book titled "Fame:Psy" was published by U.S. comic publisher Bluewater and South Korean company Able. It describes 10 years of his chequered career as a singer including being charged with possession of marijuana back in 2002, his international success with "Gangnam Style" and his new track "Gentleman."

While on visit to the U.S. since last week as part of his three-month world tour to promote his new single, Psy attended a Los Angeles Dodgers game at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium on Tuesday (local time) to watch his compatriot, Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin. He performed during a break between innings, drawing a passionate response from the some 40,000 spectators.

(Yonhap News)