Rain is back: Singer’s 2017 ‘Gang’ video goes viral

Singer Rain is unfazed by the sudden popularity of his old music video, knowing full well the less than flattering reason behind it.

“Gang,” from Rain’s mini-album “My Life” (2017), came back into the spotlight six months ago when a high school student uploaded a 27-second dance cover video of the song on YouTube. The cover video, which has over 2.2 million views, brought attention to the original.

Rain’s iconic performance style -- exaggerated motions, intense eye contact with the camera and difficult dance moves -- did not impress the younger generation. Rather, young viewers found the video funny.

The original “Gang” video has attracted over 8.7 million views as of Monday as people are curious about the “bizarre” dance moves. What started as a mockery of the star’s dancing soon turned into a form of stress relief for people struggling with the COVID-19 crisis, offering a good laugh.

People have turned “one Gang a day” into a meme. People watch the video once a day to have a laugh and post witty comments about it.

Appearing on MBC’s “Hang Out With Yoo” on Saturday, Rain shared his views about his trending music video.

“I’m very disappointed. Why do one ‘Gang’ a day? It should be at least three ‘Gang’ a day,” Rain said Saturday on the show, exhibiting self-deprecating humor. “One ‘Gang’ after breakfast, one ‘Gang’ after lunch and one ‘Gang’ after dinner.”

Rain was not fazed by the mocking comments and maintained his unique composure, turning what could be an insult into something everyone can enjoy.

“I have more fun reading the comments than watching TV shows these days,” said Rain.

People continue to write hilarious comments as the video goes viral.

“My life can be divided into two parts, before knowing ‘Gang’ and after. Of course, there is no difference,” said one user, who went by the YouTube name Son Heung-min, after the Tottenham Hotspur player.

“Oppa, stop doing what you want,” wrote another YouTube user, who took on the name Kim Tae-hee, the famous Korean actor and Rain’s wife. The comment received over 10,000 likes.

Rain admitted to watching the video three times a day on weekdays and seven times a day on weekends.

“Bringing back old school vibes (emoticon) let’s do 7 ‘Gang’ cause it’s the weekend … #HangoutWithYoo,” posted Rain on Instagram along with a dance video after appearing on the show on Sunday.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)