PSY faces criticism for his 'water show' during drought

Singer PSY performs during a run of ″The Water Show″ in 2018. [YONHAP]

Singer PSY’s “PSY The Water Show 2022” is seeing backlash after it was revealed that each concert uses approximately 300 tons of water.

The singer appeared on MBC's talk show “Radio Star” in May and revealed that “it’s all drinkable water. We spend a lot to buy all that water. Each concert requires about 300 tons. We use the performance venue’s water supplies as well as sprinkler trucks.”

The clip has been circulating online and the majority of criticism surfaced around Monday via social media and domestic news outlets. The criticism is largely due to the fact that Korea has been going through a severe nationwide drought since spring. Korea currently is short on water for agricultural use and even industrial water for the steel industry.

This year, amid the drought, the show is being promoted using catchphrases such as “So much water that it will make you wonder if we scooped up the Han River.”

While some defend that the vast amount of water usage is necessary for artistic purposes, many netizens claim that PSY should cancel or tone down the concert this year considering the drought and climate change in general.

Scheduled to take place on Aug. 4 and 5 at the Jamsil Auxiliary Stadium in southern Seoul, this is the singer’s first “Water Show” in three years after the Covid-19 pandemic. First held in 2011, the concerts are popular as audiences are doused in water while listening to music and can cool off in the hot Korean summertime.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]