Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RMNC]

Something bothers me about ^^.

It has no mouth or nose. There's nothing contextual for my brain to see except for possibly two happy eyes.

I could handle it if it was ^_^ because at least now it has some semblance of being a real face and not disembodied eyes. Every time someone uses it in text I always think they're going "^^^^^^^", like arrows pointing above, trying to speak about something prior. If someone says "Hey I saw what you did last night ^^", I look up to see what the arrows are supposed to be pointing at.

But they're not arrows. They're aegyo eyes.

I know it's more work to put a line in for a mouth, but at least then it looks like SOMETHING. And don't even get me started on how it's used in 94% of all Korean texts, regardless of the context or tone of the conversation. And sometimes, the don't even put a space between these "eyes" and the end of the sentence, making it look even less like anything distinguishable from random button mashing or a slip of the thumb.

"I ate ramyun for breakfast three days in a row^^"
"TOP is so good looking ^^"
"These shoes don't fit very well^^"
"My mom died last night ^^"

And then some foreigners even start using it. Sickening, really. So this is my call to cease from using these eyes without a face. Just don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OFpfTd0EIs

[BoholDiver]

Wow. Who cares?

[RMNC]

Me, baby, me.

[sadguy]

bored sunday evening rants.

[pkang0202]

[offtheoche]

Listen op, if you don't like the ^^ emoticon, then I suggest you go back to your own country.

Yours,
Offtheoche
^^

[Globutron]

Well there's no evidence to suggest it's even a Korean emoticon. I used it years before I even knew what Korea was. It was Japan that influenced me to use it.

So where's the argument against that, eh?

[RMNC]

I think it's one of those things that's become "Koreanized" in its own way. Yeah, the Japanese may use it, but it seems like they don't use it after EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE. Japan, in my mind, uses more varied emoticons, and more complex ones, similar to what you might find on 2chan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emoticons

[redaxe]

I think it's hilarious when all the Korean men in my company use it. It's unnerving to have a 50-something, suit-wearing, senior vice president send you a pop-up message saying "Let's go for a coffee, ok? ^^" Or "We will have company dinner tonight^^"

[MollyBloom]

While I don't mind ^^, I tend to dislike the ~ emoticon. What does that one mean? I have definitely been guilty of using all the Korean emoticons at some point in time~

Love, MollyBloom^^

[Jake_Kim]

[Morticae]

I'm guilty of frequently using ^_^ and adding "~" at the end of sentences. I feel no remorse.

[rumdiary]

^^ =smiling Korean

^_^ =sleeping Korean

^0^ =Booing Korean

^=^ =Korean with braces

^,^= Korean eating Lemona

[Bibbitybop]

I love it when it shows up in final drafts.

[NohopeSeriously]

I don't really use emoticons except for T_T. And forbidden hell I don't use ㅠㅠ. I may be a Gyopo but I find emoticons in Korea disturbing.

Smiley faces are A-OK in my book. Maybe I don't like using writing symbols as expressing varieties of emotions.