Aegyo: super cute
1 plus 1 equals Gwiyomi, 2 plus 2 equals Gwiyomi, 3 plus 3 equals Gwiyomi, 4 plus 4 equals Gwiyomi too, 5 plus 5 equals Gwiyomi too, 6 plus 6 equals chu chu chu chu chu chu Gwiyomi, I’m Gwiyomi- Korean Aegyoaeygo song
I remember the first time I ever saw Korean pop music video I was seventeen years old it was this group called big bang who had just debuted, and instantly I was hooked. It had everything any Asian pop culture fanatic could want, at least for me that is. They had a lot of colors, coordinated dancing, amazing storylines, fun videos huge group numbers and cute actions or saying as fan service. And who doesn’t like a good fan service am I right? Now, remember when I say fan service at least for k-pop I mean a bunch of things from simple fingers symbols to full-on gender bend outfits and actions. Aegyo is one of the most common and services in South Korea, as well as progressively within the United States amongst those who enjoy Korean troll economic export as in Korean music K dramas and movies. Other known as Hallyu which is a Chinese umbrella term used to refer to the phenomenal growth of the Korean culture amongst the western cultures. If you happen to be into K-dramas or k-pop then you have already seen and heard Aegyo being used by actors or a multitude of singers. Aegyo is the action of being ‘cute’ and is primarily used by Women in South Korea when speaking to loved ones or trying to gain something that they want and flirting. When performing Aegyo you have to remember that not everybody enjoys it and it is seen as very annoying at times because there is what is called fake Aegyo and what is called natural Aegyo, Fake is normally what you would see on the TV or performances and overly exaggerated movements are words. Natural is when you’re not trying to seem cute for somebody and it tends to be the one that’s less annoying generally. Aegyo is generally expressed by females by simple actions like delicately covering their teeth while they laugh which is very common. Acting like they are unable to open things like cans of soda. Let’s not forget something we even see here in the state’s girls pouting their lips and wide-eyed snapping selfies in the coffee shop. Even though it tends to be female males are able to use it as well normally reserving it for the cute baby talk with their partner. Fans use Korean words in their daily speech with each other, these words are generally a form of Korean slang that recurs frequently in the Korean pop culture. For me, I find that the fans, I am generally around or female and we will call each other Noona (elder sister) or yeodongsaeng ( younger sibling) and will talk about our biases ( favorite group or person) as some call them and others say oppa ( big brother) which kind of makes me think of sempai ( upperclassmen)in Japanese. Imagine a bunch of little girls at a Justin Bieber concert and you get a General idea of how we can act when talking. A lot of squealing and cooing with an immense amount of Korean hand gestures like the finger hearts or the ‘v’ sign (in Korean movie is not the same as the English letter) and pouting while using sickeningly sweet baby voices. I remember when I first got into Korean music and I would show it to my friends since it made me feel happy and they would look at me like I grew two heads. Or acting in an aegyo fashion with my loved ones, and oddly enough, it became more expected of me even though they found it annoying. It made me feel very uncomfortable and the thing that made me happy at a time became the thing that made me the most self-conscious and to be able to find a group of people that understand my language and my interest is an amazing thing because they are so full of love. The groups that are able to invoke this much emotion have a huge impact on aegyo . As a fan you’re gonna wanna watch your favorite group perform live because it’s almost there in the actual crowd. K – pop artists seem to have a lot more fun with their fans while performing that is easy for you as the viewer to feel like you’re there and you’re actually trying to interact with you. Groups or singers that are very well known for using it are Girls generation which is just a group of cute Aegyo girls in my honest opinion, se7en, wanna one The list goes on. With k-pop comes fandom’s and those fandoms were asked for Aegyo and bbwing bbwing. I really enjoy how cultures bring diverse people together in mutual understanding. To me, a word as simple as aegyo is a great example of a cultural phenomenon that can be, and often is, misunderstood and/or interpreted in an unnecessarily negative light. Many may have that love-hate relationship with aegyo culture, most seeming to lean more towards the latter. but for those who shy away from things they view as odd or different should remember that it is important to learn about what others enjoy with no assumptions in their minds. Everyone has a bit of aegyo in them and shouldn’t be afraid or uncomfortable to let it out.
