Explanation of the “heart finger” gesture in the squid game

One of the things that has helped the South Korean Netflix series achieve such success is its universal story about people crushed by the financial burdens of capitalism. The story of a kind of secret game show where 456 strangers compete to the death for a big payout can ultimately be relatable to anyone who has ever faced financial hardship. Even if the viewer is not willing to put his life on the line for billions of won/millions of dollars, he should be able to understand the reasons behind these characters. It’s incredibly compelling material based on great performances, especially by lead actor Lee Jong-jae who plays Song Gi-hoon, who managed to survive the games in the first season and beat not only other players.

However, there are some things that are distinctly South Korean, which may confuse foreign viewers a bit. Although some of these things are rooted in the history of South Korea, for example the backstory of player Kang Se-byok (Jung Ho-heon). as a North Korean defector, others come from South Korean pop culture that may not be on anyone’s radar unless they are fans of K-pop music or big foreign movie buffs. In the second season of the series, we see the characters giving each other a hand gesture that looks like they are snapping their fingers, and international fans may be wondering what that means. The good news is we’ve got you covered.

The finger heart gesture, sometimes referred to in the international press as the “Korean finger heart” due to its popularity among K-pop idols and South Korean actors, is made by placing the thumb and index finger together to make a small heart from the tip of the digits. Because it represents the heart, the sign of affection essentially says “I love you.” The sign’s origins are a bit of a mystery, with fans crediting K-pop artists Woohyun and G-Dragon and actor Kim Hye-soo, but what’s known for sure is that it blew up all over South Korea.

Although it seems like a fairly simple gesture, some international stars have had a hard time getting it right. While it’s understandable that the US Olympic team had a hard time during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang due to their thick gloves, Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch just can’t seem to give up get it downwith hilarious results.

The finger heart has its own emoji (🫰) and is likely to gain even more international popularity due to The Squid Game, just in time for the next K-pop posing trend: heart cheeks, where someone uses a curved arm to make heart with the curve of their face. Maybe we’ll see more of it “Squid Game” season 3 before the end of the series.

The Squid Game is streaming on Netflix.