Knowing Korean hand gestures can help you better communicate with Korean speakers and understand their culture. It can also be a fun way to show your own love and appreciation for Korea and its people. So if you’re interested in learning more about Korean culture, or just want to find another way to show your love for Korea, then learning some Korean hand gestures is a great idea!
There are a few Korean hand gestures that can be a bit confusing for foreigners. Hand gestures are important in conversations, so it’s good to know what they mean. For you, we’ve prepared a list of hand movements that Koreans use frequently to help you understand Korean culture better.
In this article
This article will turn you into a master of Korean hand gestures, and ways of nonverbal communication that Koreans frequently use. Let’s get started!
Korean Heart Sign
Koreans use different hand gestures to show the heart shape. Koreans like to make the heart shape in a variety of ways with their hand gestures to show love or appreciation. especially it seems that K-pop idol stars are competitively studying to create a more special heart sign for expressing their love to their fans.
We prepare simple explanations for a number of the most popular and often used heart hand gestures among the Korean heart signs.
Finger Heart
What is the meaning of Korean finger sign? It means LOVE.
The Finger heart is one of the most popular hand gestures used by Koreans. It is made by putting your thumb and index finger together to form a heart shape. This gesture is used to show love or appreciation for someone.
This finger heart is recognized for its distinctive Korean hand gesture, which are known as the Korean heart. You’ve undoubtedly seen a lot of Korean drama and K-pop stars, especially BTS, perform this heart sign a lot. This heart sign is done a lot by BTS, so it is called the “BTS finger heart.”
When this hand gesture first appeared and became popular many years ago in Korea, the nickname was “Shy Heart”. The point of the “Finger heart” hand sign is to make a small heart shape with your thumb and index finger, and then pretend to take it out of your left chest pocket where your heart is located.
Because it’s simple to form a heart shape near the face while taking a selfie or during a live broadcast on social media, this little heart sign, the finger heart has quickly grown in popularity.
Korean finger heart is a way to show your love for someone or something. It’s a simple, yet romantic gesture that anyone can do. So if you’re looking for a way to show your love for Korea, or just want to express your affection in a special way, then try using the Korean finger heart gesture!
In the K-drama Crash Landing on You, there is a funny and adorable scene in which North Korean Army officers are puzzled by facing Se-ri’s finger heart sign and South Korean hand sign culture for the first time.
Hand Heart
The hand heart is another popular Korean hand gesture. Also, it’s used to show love and gratitude like a finger heart.
Put only the wrist and fingertips together and place the palms apart to make the shape of the empty space of the hand into a heart. This way, you can also represent a hand heart, a Korean-style hand sign. Before finger hearts were popular, this hand heart gesture was Korea’s most popular hand sign for love while taking a selfie.
There’s a version of this hand gesture for a couple. It is to make one heart shape by making the half of a heart with one hand and attaching the half heart to the hands of two people. During a K-drama production presentation, photojournalists often ask male and female protagonists to do this hand-heart pose.
The Korean hand heart is an easy way to show Korean culture. It is used in many Korean dramas and k-pop songs. It is also seen in real life by Koreans. The Korean hand heart is a way to show love or appreciation for someone like a finger heart gesture. When Koreans see the Korean hand heart, they feel happiness and love.
Arm Heart
This arm heart, which is made by putting your arms above your head to make a heart shape, is the beginning of the heart gesture. It’s the original version of heart sign gestures. You can also easily make this arm heart. Follow these steps and make a pose.
Raise your arms above your head, and place the tips of your hands on the crown of your head to make a big heart shape by arm. This pose can make a big heart visible to people from afar to show your big love.
This arm heart, like the hand heart, has a version for couples. It’s a posture where each participant forms half of a heart and joins them together. Because it takes two people to make one heart shape, this big couple heart sign is a pose that couples frequently perform when taking photos.
Peace Sign, Victory Sign, and Korean V Hand Gesture
This hand position, which is often known as a symbol of peace, is also a show of victory. The victory sign is made by holding up your index and middle finger to make a V shape. This hand gesture means “victory” or “I did it”. And this V hand sign is one of the most frequent Korean gestures taken while taking photographs in Korea.
This V hand gesture is not only used as a symbol of peace in Korea. In Korea, this V hand and shake it slightly when requesting attention from others, especially while taking pictures. When photographed in Korea, this sign is frequently used to express cuteness.
Okay Sign = Money Hand Gesture in Korea
You may be familiar with the OK hand gesture, in which only the tips of your thumb and index finger are brought together to form a circle. The ok sign is a hand gesture that is used to mean “all right” or “OK”. It is frequently used in the United States and Europe, but also has other meanings in other parts of the world.
In Korea, the okay hand gesture means both OK and Money. It’s derived from a hand gesture that resembles a coin. In South Korea, if you flip over the ok sign hand gesture and point your palm back down, you can express a more accurate hand signal that means “money” in South Korea.
After making the Korean finger heart shape, repeatedly rubbing the tips of your thumb and index finger is also a hand gesture that means money. It’s based on counting banknotes’ appearance.
Those Korean style money hand signs mean, “This costs some money.”, “How much is this?”, “It’s expensive.”, “I have a lot of money.”, and so on. Money-counting and OK hand gesture signs are body language often used by Koreans when talking about financial matters.
Pinky Promise and Korean Developed Promise Hand Gestures
Koreans make the pinky promise frequently when promising anything. This hand sign indicates that two people should cross their little fingers. It expresses the chain of promises between you and me.
In Korea, for a deeper promise, While two people cross with their pinky fingers, attach the fingerprint part of the thumb. This thumb stamp is based on the act of stamping on a contract. When a more certain agreement is required in Korea, instead of signing with your signature, you take a thumbprint like a seal.
After that promise hand gesture, for a deeper promise, they rub each other’s palms and say ‘bok-sa’. It depicts the act of scanning a contract. ‘Boksa’ means ‘copy’ in Korean.
As a hand sign of promise, Koreans pretend to draw a signature with their fingers on the opponent’s palm. This hand gesture comes from actions writing a signature on a contract.
You’re Mastered to Korean Hand Gestures
In Korea, there are a variety of hand gestures that have unique meanings. From the OK sign meaning “money” to the victory sign meaning “I did it”, these hand gestures can be used to communicate with others in Korea. If you’re visiting South Korea or plan on doing business with Koreans, it’s important to be familiar with these hand gestures and their meanings.
So now you know a lot about the different hand gestures in Korea. Korean hand gestures can be seen in Korean dramas, movies, and even k-pop music videos. Korean hand gestures are a part of the Korean culture and are a way for people to communicate without using words.
These are just a few of the popular Korean hand gestures that foreigners are curious about. If you want to learn more, be sure to stay tuned. We will happily offer more interesting information about Korea to you!
Thank you for reading 🙂
