Rapper Psy named Dong-A Ilbo`s person of 2012

In December 2006, the U.S. weekly Time chose “You” as its annual person of the year. A foil was printed on the cover as a mirror for readers` faces.

The magazine said the ruler in the information era is “you,” and gave readers a guide to the participant-oriented information era that a variety of social network services, including YouTube and Twitter, and the online encyclopedia Wikipedia were ushering in.

"Lux ex Oriente" means "light from the east." In 2012, Korean rapper Psy emerged as a viral star in the participant-oriented information age as foretold by Time six years ago. He achieved a milestone on YouTube as his music video attracted a billion views.

“Gangnam Style,” which swept the globe this year, ranked second on Billboard’s “Hot 100”chart for seven consecutive weeks. In recognition of his great achievement, he is The Dong-A Ilbo’s person of 2012.

Though Psy and his management company YG Entertainment brought eccentric music into the world, netizens and users of social network services across the world made his song a global sensation. As soon as his music video was posted on YouTube in July this year, videos containing the reactions of viewers began to gather world attention. Thanks to the popularity of these “reaction videos,” the number of viewers of "Gangnam Style" grew exponentially, leading to the production of parody videos.

gustav@donga.com