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Tea Leaves

Has K-pop's global march lost rhythm?

Musical arm of the cool Korean wave is only marking time

Facing the giant pair of bronze hands that stands outside the Starfield COEX Mall in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district, I felt dwarfed by the power of South Korea’s most celebrated cultural export.

Although it was my first visit to the country, I knew what those odd hands meant. They glorify the "Gangnam Style" dance, a 2012 hit song by the South Korean pop sensation PSY, which became a global earworm. It was the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views, sending South Korean pop music into the history books.

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