How one Bloor Street shop is capitalizing on the success of the most-watched YouTube video of all time.
UPDATE, FEB. 14, 2013: The Grid has been informed that, since this article’s original publication in January, Jong Ro Korean Books & Music has ceased selling any PSY and “Gangnam Style”-related merchandise. The products featured in this article are no longer available at the store.
PSY’s uber-ubiquitous song, “Gangnam Style,” is now at the point where you either still love how ridiculous the whole thing is or you find it ridiculous how the whole thing is still loved. Whatever your stance on cartoon horses, one local business is trying to capitalize on the most polarizing song this side of Carly Rae Jepsen.
At the Jong Ro Korean Books & Music store on 650 Bloor Street W., Koreatown pedestrians are greeted with a cartoonish sign that promises they can buy PSY “memorables” [sic] inside.
Sungbin, the manager of the store, says he was very surprised by PSY’s huge success. “He’s not a traditional K-pop star.” Sungbin shows me a variety of memorabilia and items, starting with a four-pack of PSY CDs ($32, pictured below). There’s also “Gangnam Style”-emblazoned coffee mugs ($15)—so you can wake up with your favourite YouTube video sensation—and a branded file folder ($7.49), presumably for storing copies of all your PSY-related fan letters.
Sungbin says the material has been selling well, and that someone had just come in to buy a “Gangnam Style” mug as a gift for her dad. (No word on whether the dad one-shots his coffee before it cools down.)
