It was amazing how Gangnam Style and PSY’s brand of comedic dance music spread through our hearts making him a household name globally. Well, maybe not Japan for some reason, but everyone else couldn’t get enough of the chubby rapper and his horse dance.

It was a pop culture phenomenon that Korea could be proud for putting out, which leads us to the ongoing debate between Korean net users: How proud should a country be of its culture?

Currently there is a movement on the internet in Korea telling people to stop asking foreigners if they know who PSY is or if they’re aware of kimchi at every possible moment and just have faith that people abroad are aware and like Korean culture.

One often cited example is this reporter at a US State Department press conference from last October. After asking the spokeswoman about South Korea’s ballistic missiles he goes onto his follow-up question.

http://youtu.be/ifGiYjVx-yA

In the comments to this video you’ll see the word gukppong. This is a slang word combining the Korean word for “nation” and Philopon which is a brand of Japanese-produced methamphetamine. Therefore, gukppong could be translated to meth-nation.

Another example is this scene from a television show. Don’t worry, enough of it is in English for you to easily get the gist.

Understandably, members of the meth-nation movement feel these self-promoting gestures are too heavy-handed – like a meth-addled patriot if you will. Sociology professor Lee Myung-Jin at Korea University also feels there’s a problem.

“This is not boasting. It’s a sign of anxiety. If you’ve got enough confidence in your culture and economy, there should be no need to flaunt it all over the place. This phenomenon demonstrates that the feeling in South Korea is uncertain and ambiguous.”

However, not everyone agrees. Many have labeled people in the meth-nation movement as gukkka, a combination of “nation” and “complain” coming together as complain-nation. They naturally feel if you’ve got a good thing going, why not let everyone know about it? They certainly have a point as K-Pop and Korean dramas have made an impact on the world with a lot of help from strong promotion.

Although there is a lot of talk on the issue in South Korea right now, this type of controversy certainly isn’t limited to one country. Every nation in the world has to find that perfect balance of pride and dignity whatever it might be.

Source: Record China / Yahoo! Japan News (Japanese), Chosun.com (Korean)
Video: YouTube – a1candidate, TIMO AIK