The real Gangnam Style: Beauty Belt, wedding town, 24-hour culture

Five quirky trademarks of the "Beverly Hills of Korea"

Thanks to a certain chubby, horse-dancing singer who has become a national hero for his globalization of K-Pop -- yes, the one and only PSY -- “Gangnam” has been thrust into the global lexicon.

Anyone who’s Googled it now knows that it literally means “south of the river” and is the ritziest part of Seoul -- also thereby representative of the increasing disparity of wealth in Korea.

The most recent reports in the local media highlight the disparities in banking in Gangnam versus areas in Gangbuk (north of the river).

The employee-to-customer ratio in banks in Gangnam is twice that of Gangbuk, as banks compete to target the “super rich” who live in the area (Gangnam accounts for seven percent of Korea’s GDP).

From The New Yorker talking about “the Gangnam phenomenon” and asking questions like “Should we expect a Chinese Gangnam soon?” to Business Insider saying ridiculous things like, “Drinking expensive coffee is a major way that Gangnam dwellers display their wealth,” we thought it was time to introduce some of the quirky characteristics of Gangnam and its hi-so residents.
site: http://www.cnngo.com/seoul/life/real-gangnam-style-beauty-belt-wedding-town-24-hour-culture-507941