Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Boodleheimer]

what on earth does it mean and why do people insist on doing it in photos? 'peace'? are they telling the photographer 'peace'? 'victory'? why flash it in a photo?

even Posh freaking Spice does it. why??

[SuperFly]

1. They think it's cool.

2. They don't know what else to do with their hands.

3. It's been around since they could afford cameras.

[VanIslander]

somebody needs a history lesson

(although the search function at Dave's is enough to renew old threads on this topic:

I simply clicked search, click find all words, and put in "v sign victory peace" and the following relevant link popped up:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=22205&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Boodleheimer]

search function ain't working for me. can you enlighten the unenlightened?

[Boodleheimer]

i got this from wikipedia:

"During the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, figure skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture when she fell during a free-skate period�but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only 3rd in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in Japan. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.[citation needed]

Through the 1970s and 1980s in Japan, the V sign was often accompanied by a vocalization: "piisu!" This gairaigo exclamation, which stood for "peace", has since fallen into disuse, though the V sign itself remains steadfastly popular. It is especially popular in photography, as it is a favorite pose of both teens and adults.

The V sign is also commonly used in anime and Japanese live-action shows. When characters show this sign, it is often accompanied by an exclamation of "Vui!" (pronounced /vɯi/ or /bɯi/), an approximation of the English pronunciation "vee" which differentiates it from "bii", the Japanese name of the letter B (as many Japanese speakers hear the voiced labiodental fricative as being the same as the voiced bilabial plosive, see Engrish). A more common phrase is "kachi" which means victory (V for Victory) or luck. Several anime characters incorporate the V sign into their poses, including Ash Ketchum of Pok�mon fame, both Sailor Moon and Sailor V, as well as video game characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog.

Perhaps due to the overwhelming Japanese cultural influences in the region, the V sign in photographs has become popular with young people throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia. The sign is ubiquitous in Taiwan and is closely associated with the English word, "happy". Print and television advertisements read "happy" with hands waving while displaying the V sign, and the average Taiwanese person will invariably give that word as the meaning of the sign."

do the koreans know they're copying japan?

still doesn't really make sense to me to do it.

[ironwolves]

I am playing this card,,




Yeah I wsa thinking the same thing. Why are they doing that all the time? I think its sexual, one in the pink and one in the stink.

[greek buddha]

My wife said the same thing, that Many Koreans don't know what to do with their hands in pictures, so they do that annoying V sign. And yes they think it's cool, but for me personally it's very annoying.

[Bryan]

Yeah I'm so personally annoyed by the sign I become enraged and grow into a monster like the Hulk and begin to anally violate people. It's just so annoying I have to voice it here and let everyone know how annoying it is to me. Those feeble-minded young Asian girls mindlessly think its cool and cute but I despise their pathetic attitudes. A pox on them!

[Binch Lover]

I find it funny when they do it backwards like the f.uck you sign. I've seen many North Americans do it that way too. An ex coworker of mine was doing it in school photos and I asked him what the hell he was doing, but he had no idea what it meant.

[OneWayTraffic]