By Kim Do-yeun

Girls' Generation, the K-pop group known as SNSD outside of Korea, made a flash appearance on Yale University's art department website on Oct. 31, causing a frenzied response from fans. A scene from one of their music videos was used as the background spread of the Ivy League university's School of Art home page.

The website is reportedly designed and run by the school's art students and department members. There is much excitement around the buzz that there is an avid SNSD fan among the respected ranks of Yale.

The nine-member group has had a sensational following across Asia and beyond since their debut in 2007. They had begun charming the crowds as mostly 17- and 18-year-old girls dressed and depicted in candy-colored themes.

They are a major part of the K-pop movement, referred to as a "creeping global influence" by the New York Times, which recently reviewed the SM Town concert in New York in which the group performed.

On the website, a still shot of their music video for "Gee" was used as a background. "Gee," which had its debut in 2009, holds the longest record for claiming the top seat in the national charts and was also named "song of the decade" by Melon, the Korean mobile music portal.

Online fans expressed that they were "proud of the girls" and thrilled to see their image associated with the famed university.