The video is a parody of life in 21st century South Korea where people are in love with beautiful material things and status. Park's satirical song points at these features and uses the Gangnam area as the pinnacle of Korea's current trends.
Gangnam is a wealthy area of Seoul known for its luxurious crowds concerned with shopping, slim girls and coffee shops. South Korea has become the world's 11th largest coffee market as the number of coffee shops increased more than 50 percent between 2011 and 2012.
Park refers to this in his song when he says "A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee" (Translated) He pokes fun at the women who would rather pay a couple bucks for a cheap meal in order to enjoy the conspicuous luxuries available such as Starbucks coffees. These women are known as "doenjangnyeo" a term used to describe people blindly pursuing brand names and luxuries.
Meanwhile, 14 lifeguards that work at a city pool in El Monte, Calif. made their own spoof video of the song and uploaded it to YouTube. The young lifeguards can be seen dancing in synchronization, rubbing sunscreen on each other's bodies and gyrating in front of the camera. As a result of the spoof "Lifeguard Style" video, the city fired them for using city property, including the pool and their uniforms, for private use.
