The informant is Chinese, who have lived in China until her middle school years. She studied in the states after middle school. She is currently majoring in Cinematic Arts.

Original Gangnam Style MV: 

The Oregon Duck Style:

Obama Style:

MIT Gangnam Style:

Informant: “It was Fall 2012.  I was a freshmen in college. I don’t know how it started, but suddenly everyone on campus were talking about Gangnam Style. Gangnam Style? I had n0 idea what the name of the song meant. Later I found out it is a song by a Korean singer PSY, and Gangnam is a city in Korea. I checked out the music video and it was so funny. The dancing kid, horse choreography, the elevator guy who is air humping, and more.”

“I thought it would just be one of those songs that come and go. However, this time something was different. My friends would send me links containing different parodies of Gangnam Style. The varieties were amazing. Many colleges made parodies, naming those after their school (ex. MIT Gangnam Style). There were all sorts of animals characters’ Gangnam Style, and there even came ‘Obama Style.’ It definitely grabbed my attention because the parodies were in forms of music videos. If it was only the song that were modified, I wouldn’t have followed it.”

“It was weird how a non-english song became the world’s most popular song for a while. The parodies were made not only in America, but also many other parts of the World. People in the parodies sang to the lyrics that they don’t understand, but still made the best videos. I guess Gangnam Style’s humor and music transcends language barrier.”

Parodies of Gangnam Style have fabulous multiplicities and varieties. Gangnam Style syndrome was made by people from many different parts of the world. It was possible because the music video spread through internet, not restricted by any types of regional or cultural border.