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Psy to perform at 80th Liberation Day eve event for free

Published: 13 Aug. 2025, 15:38

Event organizer Tak Hyun-min, left, and singer Psy [YONHAP, NEWS1]

Singer Psy is set to bring his own "Gangnam Style" (2012) to this year's 80th Liberation Day eve event on Thursday, performing at the celebration for free.

“It’s Liberation Day eve, so I called Psy for the first time in three years,” said Tak Hyun-min, an event planning adviser to the speaker of the National Assembly and the chief producer of the celebration, said during an interview on CBS Radio on Tuesday.

“Psy rarely appears at events and doesn’t do any performances while he's already on tour, so after I called, I regretted it — I felt like I was putting pressure on him," Tak continued.

After the call, Tak sent a long message to Psy saying, “You don’t have to do what I asked — don’t feel burdened. I’m really sorry.”

“Then Psy called me right back and said, ‘If you say that, there’s no way I can say no, hyung,’” Psy reportedly told Tak, using the Korean honorific to address a closer, older male friend or family member.

“Not only did he agree to perform, but he also said he wouldn’t take any appearance fee," Tak said. "Psy isn’t doing this because of me, and this isn’t a commercial event, but I still feel so sorry and grateful since I was the one who brought it up.”

Tak emphasized that performing at the Liberation Day event is unrelated to a political stance or color — only the united hearts of the people to celebrate a meaningful day of our history.

“It’s the eve of a national celebration — Liberation Day — and those coming are simply here to create a joyful and happy evening," Tak said. "I hope people take it that way.”

The Liberation Day eve celebration will be held at the National Assembly’s central lawn at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday. Performers include Psy, Gummy, Dynamic Duo, Mad Clown, 10CM, Paul Kim and more.

Psy also performed without compensation at the 70th Armed Forces Day ceremony on Oct. 1, 2018, which was also organized by Tak.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom staff.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]