Psy's Shirtless Concert in Seoul Draws 80,000

Heart & Seoul: The most successful pop star to come from Asia thrills the home crowd in the heart of Seoul.

Korean rapper Psy remained stuck in 2nd place on the Billboard Hot 100 and technically wasn’t obliged to go topless – but he did anyway at the end of a free concert at the heart of downtown Seoul that drew a crowd of 80,000.

Last week Psy had promised to do a topless version of the famous horse-riding dance from his viral “Gangnam Style” video if the tune reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He managed to hit the top spot on the iTunes singles chart and the Billboard Social 50 but hasn’t quite managed to top the Hot 100.

Perhaps inspired by the size of the crowd — equal to the one that filled the Seoul Plaza during the Red Devils’ amazing run to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup — Psy tore off his shirt at the end of a two-hour concert that began at 10 p.m., showing off a physique that isn’t likely to add much to his fan base. The crowd included not only young people in their 20s and 30s but also those in their 40s and 50s as well as a large number of foreigners.

“This is the first time so many people have come to Seoul Plaza to watch a singer’s solo concert,” said a police officer. “We estimate that about 80,000 fans gathered to watch the concert, almost similar to the number of people who showed up there during the 2002 World Cup.”

Psy opened by thanking fans for powering his astounding rise to the top of the global pop scene. He then gave solo performances — backed up by his dancers — of the most popular songs from his 12-year career as a K-pop artist, opening with “Right Now,” a song from the last album released before the two-year hiatus. On the strength of his newfound popularity, “Right Now” may now be on a belated track to become another international hit.

Not surprisingly, the night’s highlight was “Gangnam Style” — the song and dance that went viral about two weeks after Psy aka Park Jae-sang posted the original video on YouTube. He tore off his shirt and galloped through the horse-riding dance to an ecstatic roar of approval.

The roads around the Seoul Plaza — which lies at the very heart of Seoul, right in front of City Hall — were closed to traffic from 6 pm to midnight.

The concert, announced several days ago, is credited with filling up the Seoul Plaza Hotel and the President Hotel which face the Plaza.