By CHRIS TALBOTT
AP Music Writer
South Korean rapper and Internet sensation PSY is
apologizing to Americans for participating in anti-U.S. protests several
years ago.
Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a
statement Friday after reports surfaced that he had participated in
concerts protesting the U.S. military presence in South Korea during the
early stages of the Iraq war.
At a 2004 concert, the "Gangnam Style" rapper
performs a song with lyrics about killing "Yankees" who have been
torturing Iraqi captives and their families "slowly and painfully."
During a 2002 concert, he smashed a model of a U.S. tank on stage.
"While I'm grateful for the freedom to express
one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is
appropriate and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be
interpreted," he wrote in the statement. "I will forever be sorry for
any pain I have caused by those words."
The 34-year-old rapper says the protests were part
of a "deeply emotional" reaction to the war and the death of two Korean
school girls, who were killed when a U.S. military vehicle hit them as
they walked alongside the road. He noted anti-war sentiment was high
around the world at the time.
PSY attended college in the U.S. and says he
understands the sacrifices U.S. military members have made to protect
South Korea and other nations. He has recently performed in front of
servicemen and women.
"And I hope they and all Americans can accept my
apology," he wrote. "While it's important that we express our opinions, I
deeply regret the inflammatory and inappropriate language I used to do
so. In my music, I try to give people a release, a reason to smile. I
have learned that thru music, our universal language we can all come
together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my
apology."
His participation in the protests was no secret in
South Korea, where the U.S. has had a large military presence since the
Korean War, but was not generally known in America until recent news
reports.
PSY did not write "Dear American," a song by the
Korean band N.EX.T, but he does perform it. The song exhorts the
listener to kill the Yankees who are torturing Iraqi captives, their
superiors who ordered the torture and their families. At one point he
raps: "Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers/Kill
them all slowly and painfully."
PSY launched to international acclaim based on the
viral nature of his "Gangnam Style" video. It became YouTube's most
watched video, making him a millionaire who freely crossed cultural
boundaries around the world. Much of that success has happened in the
U.S., where the rapper has managed to weave himself into pop culture.
He recently appeared on the American Music Awards,
dancing alongside MC Hammer in a melding of memorable dance moves that
book-end the last two decades. And the Internet is awash with copycat
versions of the song. Even former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, the
81-year-old co-chairman of President Barack Obama's deficit commission,
got in on the fun, recently using the song in a video to urge young
Americans to avoid credit card debt.
It remains to be seen how PSY's American fans will
react. Obama, the father of two pop music fans, wasn't letting the news
change his plans, though.
Earlier Friday, the White House confirmed Obama and
his family will attend a Dec. 9 charity concert where PSY is among the
performers. A spokesman says it's customary for the president to attend
the "Christmas in Washington" concert, which will be broadcast Dec. 21
on TNT. The White House has no role in choosing performers for the
event, which benefits the National Children's Medical Center.
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