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The Finger heart, (Korean: 손가락 하트) also called Korean finger heart gesture, is a trend that was popularized in South Korea in the 1990s, in which the index finger and thumb come together like a snap to form a tiny heart. The gesture was popularized by K-pop idols, who would often use the gesture to express their love and gratitude to their fans. It is represented in Unicode with the codepoint U+1FAF0 🫰 HAND WITH INDEX FINGER AND THUMB CROSSED as "Hand with Index Finger and Thumb Crossed".

Popular usage

In the 1990s, the finger heart gesture was called the "Timid V" (소심한 브이) in South Korea. This term was used by South Korean baby boomers and Generation X, but as they ended, the MZ generation began to call it the finger heart in the 2000s. By the 2010s, it had become widely accepted in South Korea, and spreaded to the rest of the world as a part of the Korean Wave. Before the appearance of finger hearts, it was common to make small hearts with two hands or to make large hearts by raising and curving both arms above the head. Heart gestures using both hands and arms also have been performed worldwide, but finger hearts are also called Korean Finger Hearts because of its association with the rise of South Korean pop culture.

In South Korea, it is a popular symbol among Korean celebrities (namely actors and singers) and their fans, and popularly performed using the thumb and index finger.

Although various instances of finger hearts may be found from before 2010, namely in K-pop musician G-Dragon's childhood photo), finger hearts are considered to have been first popularized by actress Kim Hye-soo then in the K-pop community by Infinite's Nam Woohyun in 2011.

The thumb and index finger gesture has become popular across Asia due to the popularity of K-pop and Korean dramas. Notable South Korean celebrities – including G-Dragon and PSY – as well as groups including Exo and BTS, have popularized the gesture to a wider international audience.

During the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, The North Face provided gloves with highlighted thumb and index finger sleeves to highlight this symbol.

In 2021 the finger heart was added to Unicode 14.0 and Emoji 14.0 with the codepoint U+1FAF0 🫰 HAND WITH INDEX FINGER AND THUMB CROSSED as "Hand with Index Finger and Thumb Crossed".

See also

• Hand heart
• Heart in hand

References

1. Boboltz, Sara (9 February 2018). "Everything You Need To Know About South Korea's Finger Heart Trend". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
2. 소심한 브이. BNT News (in Korean). 10 April 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
3. 포토: 한예리 "소심한 브이". Star News (in Korean). 25 November 2015.
4. 포토: 인피니트 우현 "소심한 브이". FN News (in Korean). 21 March 2013.
5. 황정음-최여진 '흑백 미녀들의 소심한 브이'. news.mt.co.kr (in Korean). 31 August 2015.
6. ^ "US Olympians Try Their Hands at K-Pop's "Finger Heart". What's That?". NBC News. Chicago: NBC. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
7. "G-Dragon". Hello K-pop. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
8. White, Adam (16 August 2019). "Finger Hearts: A Brief History of the Korean Trend". Discovery. Cathay Pacific. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
9. [짤줍] '손가락 하트'의 창시자가 김혜수?. Dispatch (in Korean). 10 June 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
10. 남우현 "손가락하트, 저작권 가능하나"... 최화정 "'맛있으면 0칼로리'도". News1 (in Korean). 26 October 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
11. 남우현 "'손가락 하트', 내가 유행시켜". mk.co.kr (in Korean). 4 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
12. 해피투게더' 남우현 "손가락 하트, 내가 원조" [시선강탈]. TV Daily (in Korean). 5 October 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
13. "Five trendy 2018 Winter Olympics K-fashion items to keep you feeling warm and looking cool". South China Morning Post. 6 February 2018.
14. "🫰 Hand with Index Finger and Thumb Crossed Emoji". Emojipedia. Retrieved 23 April 2023.

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