As the popularity of Korean singer Psy’s Gangnam Style increases, the supporting cast of his music video is getting attention as well. Among these, the most popular one is the smiling guy who dances when the door of the elevator opens, while Psy lies on the floor inside of the elevator, singing. The man is dancing to Psy’s song in a suggestive way, thrusting his pelvis. People have found his moves both funny and perverted and the guy is generally knowns as “Elevator Guy.”

The scene lasts for about seven seconds, which is short compared to other scenes of the music video. However, “Elevator Guy” has become somewhat of a phenomenon on his own as a lot of people find him hilarious and started to wonder who the guy really is.

Even Psy said via twitter, “People keep asking me about the elevator guy these days.”

The pelvis-thrusting guy in the video is actually a famous comedian and show host in South Korea. His name is No Hong-chul. He was born March 31, 1979.

No debuted as a show host on Korea’s music cable channel ‘Mnet’ in 2004. He quickly became popular with his witty words and distinct personality, and now is one of the most influential celebrities in Korea, appearing in many TV and radio programs.

He has shown a lot of talent in many fields so far. No was designated as a professional bobsleigh athlete from the Korea Sports Council, and as a dance sports player in 2007 and 2009 respectively. He used to run an online shopping mall selling grotesque clothes, and also controlled a tourism company. In 2010, he became a professor at Seoul Art College, teaching Fashion Art.

Korea’s newspaper, Nocut News, reported on September 13 that some American shows asked No to be on their show as a guest, but he rejected the offer because of the language barrier.

Gangnam Style has given No a lot of opportunity to get professional exposure, but actually he was not on the list of cast members at first. It is reported that No was on the music video as the “Elevator guy” by chance. No visited Psy when Psy was shooting the music video, and Psy asked him to be in one of the scenes. Psy is close friends with No.

The most popular show that No is current on is “Muhandojun,” which can be translated in English “infinite challenge,” or “reckless challenge.” Muhandojun was first on air back to 2006 from MBC, one of Korea’s biggest TV stations, and it is widely loved by Korean people. A total of seven members are hosting this show and No is one of them. The show is mainly about the hosts; they are given various missions and have to do those missions on camera. Since this show is super popular in Korea, when people are talking about No, they automatically connect this show to No.

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About the author

Tae-jun Kang
Tae-jun Kang graduated from Korea University with a business degree as well as a minor in Russian language and literature. He had worked as a riot police in Korea for 2 years before he started his degree. This gave him an opportunity to focus on the social issues which he overlooked before, and spiked his interest in the field of journalism. In 2011, he worked for Voice of America Seoul News Center for nine months as an intern, building his goal to become an international journalist. You can reach him by sending an email to taejun.kang@toonarimedia.com

2 Comments for Who is the Elevator Guy in Gangnam Style?

sae

the elevator guy….

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sae

http://blog.naver.com/murasaki77/90153512240

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