Korean Job Discussion Forums

Boodleheimer · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:01 pm Post subject: That 'V' sign

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 · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Location: In the doghouse

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 · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:12 pm Post subject:

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 · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:16 pm Post subject:

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

Boodleheimer · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:25 pm Post subject:

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 · Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Location: South Carolina USA

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 · Joined: 01 Nov 2007

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 · Joined: 29 Oct 2007

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 · Joined: 25 Jul 2005

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 · Joined: 14 Mar 2005

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

i asked the girls in taiwan what the "V"sign meant to them. they said it was the sign for "cute".

my students here have a hand signal for angry: index funger pointed up from cranium and moving away in rapid movement.

is someone uses a sign and says it means "cute", then that is what it means.

kids all across asia have no idea what the raised middle finger means. but they use it to get alaugh.

ernie · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Location: asdfghjk

my problem with the 'V' sign is that although people use it to mean 'peace', it really stands for 'victory'! isn't that the opposite of peace?

Binch Lover · Joined: 25 Jul 2005

Cthulhu R'lyeh · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Location: The Nameless City

It's still going strong in my neck of the woods back home.... well not anymore but we did have a pretty fun Facebook group dedicated to 'dat V' last year around this time.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2232739510

The Grumpy Senator · Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Up and down the 6 line

I once played "Got Your Nose" (the baby game where you put your thumb between your first two finger while making a fist and act like you took the babies nose) with a friend of mine's baby. My Korean wife freaked out because that hand gesture in Korea is the same as the middle finger back home. I had no idea, I had done that a hundred times with my preschool students and never knew I was basically flipping them off!!! Opps.