With the popularity of “Gangnam Style” in the past couple of weeks, more and more students are exploring the world of Korean pop music, also known as K-pop.

Senior Akshay Kumar is one such student. Kumar was introduced to K-pop in his junior year by a friend.

“The first song I ever heard from K-pop…was “Hello” by Shinee (a Korean boy group),” Kumar said. “Shinee is (now) one of my favorite groups.”

According to Kumar, he was attracted by the bright, bouncy beats which embody many songs of the K-pop genre. Kumar also said that he thought “Gangnam Style” was a good introduction to get students interested in other K-pop songs.

“‘Gangnam Style’ kind of introduced (the genre) and then as people saw (the video), they would go on YouTube and search up more songs out there by Psy or…other artists like Shinee or Big Bang (another Korean boy group),” Kumar said.

Choir director Lamonte Kuskye said he thinks that Korean pop songs like “Gangnam Style” can help to bridge the gap between different cultures.

“I think anything like that helps people realize how much more alike we are than different,” Kuskye said. “That’s what (performing) arts are in the world…that’s why (they’re) so important.”

Kumar said he personally noticed he is more accepting of other cultures.

“It’s definitely opened me up a lot to the more eastern side of the world. I used to just stay in my own little western bubble,” Kumar said.

While some students like Kumar enjoy K-pop for its unique characteristics, others believe that it lacks originality and development.

“Most of (the songs) I don’t really like. I feel like it’s artificial, just like American music is artificial. I feel like it’s really homogenous,” junior Kyle Weaver said.

However, Weaver said he think “Gangnam Style” is an exception because it is so creative and different from other songs of the genre.

“When ‘Gangnam Style’ came out, I feel like it greatly enhanced the popularity,” Weaver said. “(However), I think that (like of K-pop still) applies to a certain demographic of students.”

Kuskye said he thinks that CHS students are definitely accepting of this style of music because when students look at music, they tend to care more about the content than the country of origin.

“If it’s something people like, they don’t care where it’s from. (They) think that’s cool…oh let’s go try it,” Kuskye said. “(CHS students are) a generation that’s not nearly as narrow-minded as the older people…(students) are so open to new things. Everybody’s looking for things that are new and different.”