Why Do East Asians Make A V-Sign In Pictures?

It’s well known that East Asians like to throw up the v-sign in pictures. But why?
It appears that no one knows anymore!

War and Peace

Some suspect that it came from Winston Churchill’s “v” for victory (1940’s) or Janet Lynn’s “v” for peace (1970’s).

Put that away before you poke someone’s eye out

It used to drive me bonkers when relatives from South Korea would come to visit and they did that in every picture! I thought to myself, ‘we’re just at the zoo, not a political rally,’ with as much teenage snarkiness as possible. It was also a dead give away that they were tourists. I would slap my cousins hands down if I saw them creep up to make the “v”. Nothing annoyed me more when I was a kid and they came to visit…except maybe when they would use an umbrella for sun protection….If I had a quarter for every time someone yelled “hey, it’s not raining!”…. 🙄

It’s tradition

But when I asked them why they did it, they had no idea. It was just convention. It’s just the same as saying “cheese.”

Small faces only need apply

So we all know how South Koreans are obsessed with beauty. Hence the deserved popularity of K-beauty brands (they’re amazing!). But there’s this strange obsession to make faces look smaller. If you watch Korean shows, you might’ve even caught comments about how small an actress’s or K-pop idol’s face was.

Well, you can kind-of fake it in pictures by putting two v-signs on each side of your face; thereby covering a quarter of your face on either side. Not only will you have a smaller face but also look festive! 😆

Throw it up!

It’s also ironic that there is no “v” letter or sound in Hangeul? In Hangeul, it’s pronounced “beu-ee.” 

I used to wish the v-sign trend would die out. But now I just think it’s goofy and cute. I mean, what’s the harm? Not to mention, it takes care of figuring out what to do with your hands in pictures!

I even find myself encouraging my toddler to make the v-sign for pictures! It’s another way for him to stay in touch with his Korean heritage! Right? Well, that’s how I’m going to think of it.

Note though that if you flip the v-sign so that your palm is facing you, it can mean an insult. So watch out for that! Although the snarky teenager that still lives in me, thinks that would be a great sneaky way of posing for pictures sarcastically. 😈

So do you pose for picture with a “v” sign? Have you been tempted to? I know I have! Share in the comments!