Hwang Min-woo (, born May 17, 2005) is a South Korean teenaged actor, singer and dancer. He is best known for his appearance in the music video for the 2012 international hit single "

Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" () is a K-pop song by South Korean singer Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, ''Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1'' (''Ssai Yukgap Part 1''). The term "Gangnam Style" is a n ...

Career

National fame

In 2010, he rose to fame and caught the attention of the Vietnamese-South Korean media with his dance moves during the South Korean TV series ''

Star King ''Star King'' (also published as ''The Star King'') is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the first in his Demon Princes series. It tells the story of a young man, Kirth Gersen, who sets out to track down and avenge himsel ...

''. He also appeared on the reality television show ''

Korea's Got Talent ''Korea's Got Talent'' () is a South Korean reality television show that was first broadcast on 4 June 2011 on TVN (South Korean TV channel), tvN. The show is based on the Got Talent series, ''Got Talent'' series format, originating with ''Brita ...

'', where he was praised by the judges for his stage presence and dance skills.

International recognition

Hwang's performance on Korea's Got Talent was witnessed by the South Korean music artist

PSY Park Jae-sang (; born December 31, 1977), better known by his stage name Psy ( ; ), is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter, known domestically for his humorous music videos and stage performances and internationally for his hit singl ...

, who subsequently called him up to appear in the music video of "

". As a result of the worldwide popularity of "Gangnam Style", Hwang has gained an international

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

and also caught the attention of foreign broadcasting networks such as

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

, with the latter reporting that "he's now dancing in domestic awards ceremonies as a special guest, going live on national television news and even shooting commercials for companies such as LG", and that his "mounting popularity" has put him on concerts overseas in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

." According to

Soompi Soompi is an English-language website providing coverage of Korean pop culture. It has one of the largest international Internet communities for K-pop, mostly concentrated in news and forums. With more than 23 million fans across all platforms, ...

, he has become one of the "hottest" celebrities in

K-Pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

. In February 2013, Hwang arrived in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

to promote the LG Optimus G smartphone. During an interview with reporters, he expressed his desire to step away from "Gangnam Style" and disclosed the title of his single, "Showtime".

Filmography

Variety Show

*''

'' (2010) *''

'' (2011) *''Tralala Brothers'' (2023) *''Mr. Lotto'' (2023)

Music Video

*''

'' by

Psy Park Jae-sang (; born December 31, 1977), better known by his stage name Psy ( ; ), is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter, known domestically for his humorous music videos and stage performances and internationally for his hit singl ...

(2012)

Personal life

Hwang's father is South Korean and his mother is a Vietnamese woman named Vu Thi Ly. In 2012, Hwang was selected as one of the 10 recipients of South Korea's 1st "Multicultural Youth Awards" launched by the ''

Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' () is a daily English-language newspaper in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean-language daily. It is the oldest active daily English-language newspaper in South Korea. Since the late 1 ...

'' to recognize contributions made by people who have enhanced the cultural diversity of South Korea. However, due to the prevalence of racism in South Korea, his family has had to take legal action against those who have bullied him over his ancestral heritage. During an interview with the news agency

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, Hwang revealed that he aspires to become a "global star" and surpass

's popularity in the future.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Min-Woo Living people 2005 births South Korean male singers South Korean child singers South Korean dance musicians Psy South Korean people of Vietnamese descent 21st-century South Korean singers