Psy's Quotes

South Korean pop artist, Psy took the world by storm a few years ago with his single "Gangnam Style". Since then, everyone has followed his career and tried to learn his horse-riding dance moves. As a tribute, we have gathered a few of his famous quotes which can reveal some details about the personality of this world-famous icon and some of his secrets.

"The world's most famous and popular language is music."

"My lifetime role model and hero is Freddie Mercury of Queen."

"I try to dress classy and dance cheesy."

"I'm a bit jealous. Until two days ago someone told me I am the most famous Korean in the world."

"Gangnam is a territory in Seoul, Korea. I describe it as noble at the daytime and going crazy at the night time. I compare ladies to the territory. So - noble at the daytime, going crazy at the night time - and the lyrics says I am the right guy for the lady who is like that."

"We are just at the studio, me and my choreographers, we are spending like 30 nights and we are thinking, what is my next dance move? Because in Korea there are huge expectations about my dancing. So it was a lot of pressure."

"All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country."

"Before ‘Gangnam Style' I was not a good attitude artist."

"I just made my album. I did my best. And I uploaded the video just to ‘YouTube.‘ That was all."

"I need to show the world that my final goal is to perform huge concerts like Madonna."

"I never expected I would become a K-pop star."

"I'm not that good-looking."

Top Restaurants in Seoul

Seoul locals stand out at an international level for dining out on a regular basis. This lifestyle is partly due to their long office hours and partly due to the vibrant culinary scene of the city - the restaurants are open through the night.

The city's wide selection of restaurants, bars and market stalls comprise the riches of Korean cuisine, which is now being appreciated for its complexity and sophistication, and has surpassed the traditional favourites of barbecue and kimchee.

Here is a guide to the best dining experiences in Seoul according to Thomas Storey.

If you are looking for a real Korean taste, go to Song Jook Heon, which is a restaurant that specialises in hanjeongsik which is the most lavish and luxurious type of Korean cuisine. A huge variety of smaller side dishes are combined with a main dish of meat, fish or a hot pot to make a fancy banquet. This type of cuisine originated in the royal palaces and aristocratic homes of ancient Korea, and these distinguished origins are still palpable in the abundance of dishes - up to 30 - on offer in a traditional Hanjeongsik.

Byeokje Galbi, which specialises in beef or Hanu, focuses on the more carnivorous side of the Korean food spectrum. The main element is galbi, which is the Korean grilled or barbecued meat that has become famous throughout the globe. The pieces of Hanu are barbecued on the table in front of diners, along with a variety of side dishes. This process is part of the social atmosphere and also guarantees the freshness of the meal. In Byeokje Galbi, the quality of the meat is extremely important.

Eulji Myun Oak is a restaurant that has been serving Naengmyeon - a refreshing Korean staple - for over 30 years and is one of the most beloved restaurants amongst locals for its family feel and the sheer quality of its Naengmyeon recipe. This classic Korean dish consists of cold noodles made from either buckwheat or potatoes, stewed in vinegary beed broth and served cold with cucumbers, pears, boiled egg, a spicy mustard sauce and occasionally toped off with cold braised beef.

South Korea's working hours dilemma

As one of the four Asian tigers, South Korea maintained an exceptionally high growth rate and rapid industrialisation between the early 1960s and 1990s. Today, along with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, this Asian Dragon has developed into an advanced and high-income economy.

As South Korea has become a world leader in manufacturing information technology, the demands at work have increased. The stakes are high and the nation needs to maintain its high standards in order to compete at a global scale and retain its world-leading position.

These demands have changed people's lifestyles as they work more than office hours in an extremely competitive environment. This situation has created a work-life imbalance that mostly affects women.

In order to restore work-life balance amongst its citizens, the South Korean government has recently implemented a Five-Day Working Policy, which makes Saturday an official non-working day and cuts weekly work hours from 44 to 40.

However, according to a study, this policy has not have the desired effect. According to a national survey of urban Korean households - called the Korean Labour and Income Panel Survey - the policy did not result in greater life satisfaction for men or women; nevertheless, women report liking the measure slightly more than men.

The comfort from having more hours at home was counterbalanced by increasing stress at work as the hours were fewer but the demands remained the same.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, puts forward two explanations for this situation. Accordingly, either less working hours are not resulting in the benefits they are meant to or work stress escalates when production hours are cut.

In any case, the shorter work week was supposed to be a benefit for individuals and that is not the way it turned out to be. However, time will tell if South Koreans will be able to adjust to less office hours or if the demands from employers need to decrease and how that will affect the economy.

Wonder Girls in Billboard Hot 100

Wonder Girls, one of South Korea's top girl groups, are the first Korean singers to enter the top 100 of main Billboard chart in 2009.

After five months of being released in the United States, their single "Nobody" ranked 76th on the Billboard Hot 100, which is one of the two most important charts in the country. This is especially significant as the US music market is the largest in the world. This chart lists the top 100 songs of the moment regardless of genre and is frequently used as the standard measure for ranking songs in the U.S.

The song –which was written by Park Jin-young- had already taken Asia by storm, turning Wonder Girls' five members into K-pop superstars. Their sensual and striking voices and moves along their catchy and contagious single caused sensation and furor inside and outside of South Korea's boundaries.

The band made their debut in the United States with the release of an album in English after signing a management contract with the Jonas Group and Hollywood's Creative Artist Agency (CAA). This was the agency chosen to manage the band's career in the U.S.

This acknowledgement of Wonder Girls by the Billboard Top 100 is a milestone for K-pop music and the band members (Sun, Yenny, Mimi, Sohee and Yubin). Undeniably, the key to the U.S. music market opens the doors to the rest of the world. And this proves that Wonder Girls really are "the girls who can amaze the world".

In 2010, the band entered the Chinese market with the compilation album Wonder Girls that included Chinese language versions of "Tell Me", "Nobody", and "So Hot". In 2012, the group signed with

DefStar Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music Japan, for their Japanese debut.

In late 2012, Wonder Girls announced the group would be going on provisional break owing to Sunye's marriage.