Hwang Min-woo (황 민 우) (born May 17, 2005) is a South Korean child 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" ( ko, 강남스타일, ) is a K-pop song by South Korean rapper 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 ...

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

Korea's Got Talent ''Korea's Got Talent'' ( ko, 코리아 갓 탤런트) 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 forma ...

'', 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), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...

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

and also caught the attention of foreign broadcasting networks such as

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

and

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

, 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 (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

." 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 (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

. In February 2013, Hwang arrived in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

to promote the

LG Optimus G The LG Optimus G (retrospectively referred to unofficially as the LG Optimus G1, or LG G1) is a smartphone designed and manufactured by LG Electronics. It was announced on September 19, 2012; On January 18, 2013, LG announced that the device reac ...

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

Personal life

Hwang's father is South Korean and his mother is a Vietnamese 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 the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...

'' 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 Racism in South Korea comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in South Korea, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and actions (includ ...

, 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 Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, 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