Hwang Min-woo "Regretted the 'Little Psy' Hate Comments"...A Time to Strengthen His Mental Strength

Singer Hwang Min-woo, who gained attention in his youth as “Little Psy,” revealed a difficult experience he went through due to harmful comments directed at his mother, who is from Vietnam. On the 1st of this month, he openly shared his feelings during an episode of MBN’s “Sokpuliso Dongchimi.”

Hwang Min-woo explained how he earned the nickname “Little Psy” after appearing in Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video in 2012. He said he received a sudden invitation to join the video just 2–3 days before filming. At that time, he recalled not knowing who Psy was or what a music video actually was. The dance Psy asked him to perform—just a casual move—became a major topic of discussion after the video was released, and that’s how he became known as “Little Psy” to the public.

However, rapid popularity was followed by negative reactions. Hwang Min-woo said, “Over time, there were comments like ‘When will you stop exploiting the ‘Little Psy’ image?’ and I suffered from vicious remarks that were hard for someone my age to handle.” He emphasized that the criticism aimed at his mother, who is Vietnamese, left the deepest wound of all.

He explained, “I could tolerate the criticism directed at me, but there were unbearable hate comments targeting my mother. Back then, attitudes toward multicultural families were not positive.” Because of this, he said, “I really regretted choosing a career in entertainment, thinking maybe I shouldn’t have done it at all,” reflecting on his feelings at the time.

Comedian Jeong Seong-ho, who was listening, comforted him by saying it wasn’t Hwang Min-woo who was at fault but rather those who wrote the harmful comments. Hwang Min-woo showed that he viewed those difficult times as an opportunity for growth, stating, “Thanks to those trials, my mental strength has become much stronger.”

Currently, Hwang Min-woo is expanding his musical scope by becoming a trot singer. He released his first trot album, “OPPA,” in 2023 and continues to actively pursue a career as a trot artist.