Hwang Min-woo (Little PSY) opens up about malicious comments targeting his Vietnamese mother

Hwang Min-woo sat down on MBN's Dongchimi on August 1st for a trot prodigy special. He opened up about the harassment his Vietnamese mother received after he became famous as "Little PSY."

He was 8 when he appeared in PSY's Gangnam Style music video in 2012. The casting call came just 2–3 days before filming. "PSY told me to try a freestyle dance next to him, and that's the dance that came out," he said. "Back then I didn't know who PSY was or what a music video was." The video now has over 5.9 billion views. The "Little PSY" name took him to performances in 13 countries.

Then the backlash hit. As the nickname stuck around, he started hearing "how long are you going to keep milking Little PSY." His mother became a target. "I could endure the criticism directed at me, but my mother received malicious comments I couldn't even say out loud," he said. "At that time I really regretted choosing the path of an entertainer." The public view toward multicultural families at that time was not good. He credited the experience with making his mental strength "much stronger."

Hwang also appeared in PSY's DADDY music video. He competed on MBN's Voice Trot and TV Chosun's Mr. Trot 2, placing well on both. In 2023 he released his first trot album, Oppa (OPPA). On the August 1st broadcast he named Gangnam Style and Oppa—which he wrote himself—as his two life songs.