POOLE: You played a large part in “Gangnam Style.” Why did you decide to mock your own industry?

HYUN-A: It has been watched by 700 million people, and that is amazing. PSY has told the media several times how I got the part in the video—I’ve heard that from the video’s initial production stage, Psy has chosen me to take the female role of the video. I was flattered to hear that. He contacted the CEO of my management company, Cube Entertainment, for the video, and that’s how I became the part of the video. The song does not mock the industry—the song and video of “Gangnam Style” has its focus on the people rather than the industry itself. The song’s success proves that people in Gangnam are confident enough to accept and enjoy the song. All in all, I am happy that PSY’s song is being loved by people all around the world, and I am lucky I am a part of it.

POOLE: “K-Pop” is a catch-all term. How would you truly describe your music overall?

HYUN-A: Currently, K-Pop is represented by music of girl groups and boy bands. Thanks to PSY, now people are starting to realize that K-Pop is not limited to just one genre. In my case, I take part in performance-oriented music and believe it is my call to show the audience something that both their eyes and ears can enjoy. There are many K-Pop artists who are performance-oriented, and I’d like to make a distinctive boundary of mine among them.

POOLE: How would you describe life in the K-Pop world?

HYUN-A: I’ve been doing my best to achieve my dream, and I am still in a process of getting where I want to be. It is very dynamic life—photo shoots with different concepts, flying in and out of Korea for concerts and TV appearances—no single day is the same. I get to experience different things every day. Even though there are times I feel physically tired due to the tight schedule, I enjoy it every minute of it. It is a very attractive industry, in that sense; it makes me challenge myself.

POOLE: How do American and Korean music differ?

HYUN-A: A few years back, I felt that there were many differences, but now I feel like PSY has broken many of those walls. When I see the audience sing along to our songs in other countries, I feel there are no walls or boundaries exist for good songs to be loved. However I still believe there is basic cultural difference exists between Korean and American music. Also there is a difference in languages exists when it comes to expressing emotion. Compared to English lyrics tend to express their feelings directly, Korean lyrics are more poetic and indirect.

POOLE: Who, and what, inspires you?

HYUN-A: [Everything] from ordinary things in everyday life, people’s attention, the life that I had until now, to family, friends, fans… they all are my inspiration, and of course, the stage and the practicing room. The practicing room is where I spend most of [my] time, especially before the single release. When it comes to making choreography for the song, I look at myself in the mirror and give variations to the original choreography until I find the [right] choreography—choreography that fits me perfectly and that can project the performer HyunA in the right way. Since I constantly check the mirror to find the perfect moves, I could say that it is my inspiration.