Psy's "Gangnam Style" may be the most watched YouTube in history with over 1.7 billion views, but there still are places on the planet where the song, or any other K-pop single for that matter are not widely unknown.

The country of India is reportedly one of those places where K-pop has yet to fully break into mainstream culture, and Kim Kum Pyoung, Director of India's Korean Cultural Center, would like to change that.

"K-Pop is a world phenomenon which seems to be missing in India," Kim told the publication the Financial Express on Monday. "Although it is fast picking up, we aim to make it bigger every year."

And how does he plan to do that, you ask?

With a "Gangnam Style" dance off of course, and a chance for aspiring singers to go head to head in front of an audience of 700, the New Observer Post reports, at the Second Pan India K-Pop contest in New Delhi.

On Saturday, as part a contest organized in 13 countries by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12 Indian semi-finalists brought their best moves for the chance to compete in the international finals held in Gangwon Province next month.

Deepak Kumar of the seven-man dance team Paul 5 from the Timarpur slums, got the opportunity to travel to South Korea when his team won the Indian portion of the contest last year, (billed as K-Pop Contest 2012) for dancing to the Big Bang smash single "Gara Gar Go."

He credits the contest for offering him and his dance troupe excellent exposure.

"This international platform gave a boost to our spirits," Kumar said.

"It was through social media that our group got to know about the contest. We uploaded a video which people liked and it all changed for us."

"Now, we are called to perform at various venues and our parents, who did not support the dance group have now become open to the idea," he added.

Director Kim, who was among a panel of judges that included director Sanjeev Bhargava and dancer Aleksandra Michelska Singh, has confidence that K-pop is more than just a passing fad.

"The Indian public enjoys tapping their feet to 'Gangnam Style' especially at wedding ceremonies. Apart from this, we would also like to introduce other music of K-Pop to the Indian audience," Kim told the website RealBollywood.com.

"If the Indian audiences love to tap their feet to Gangnam style, we're sure K-pop will soon become mainstream."

This year's Indian finalists for South Korea's K-Pop Contest include the Crazy Freaks Dance Crew for their "Gangnam Style" moves and Edwin Jamir in the cover song category.

Edwin Jamir