Thai inmates go ‘Gangnam Style’ before PSY concert

Thai inmates perform “Gangnam Style” dance on the stage during the dancing competition at a prison in Bangkok, Thailand Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. The event was held to encourage inmates to do more exercise and coincide with the concert of South Korean rapper PSY’s “Gangnam Style” to be held in Bangkok on Wednesday, Nov. 28. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

BANGKOK — A day before South Korean rap sensation PSY brings his “Gangnam Style” to Thailand, scores of inmates have danced to the hit behind barbed wire and bars in a Bangkok prison.

Seventy out of 4,500 prisoners at Bangkok Remand Prison put on a show Tuesday for the media and corrections department executives after competing in a “Gangnam Style” dance contest last week.

Officials said the program was to relieve inmates’ stress and help them keep fit.

PSY’s “Gangnam Style” this month became the most watched video ever on YouTube. It has spawned hundreds of parodies and tribute videos, including a popular one earlier this year by members of the Thai navy.

PSY will perform in Thailand on Wednesday night — his first show in Asia outside of South Korea.