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Thefinger heart, (Korean: 손가락 하트) also called theKorean finger heart, is a gesture that was popularized inSouth Korea in the 1990s, in which the index finger and thumb come together like a snap to form a tiny heart.[1][unreliable source?] The gesture was popularized by K-pop idols, who would often use the gesture to express their love and gratitude to their fans. It is represented inUnicode with the codepointU+1FAF0 🫰HAND WITH INDEX FINGER AND THUMB CROSSED as "Hand with Index Finger and Thumb Crossed".
In the 1990s, the finger heart gesture was called the "Timid V" (소심한 브이) in South Korea. This term was used by South Korean baby boomers and Generation X, but as they ended, the MZ generation began to call it the finger heart in the 2000s. By the 2010s, it had become widely accepted in South Korea, and spread to the rest of the world as a part of theKorean Wave. Before the appearance of finger hearts, it was common to make smallhearts with two hands or to make large hearts by raising and curving both arms above the head. Heart gestures using both hands and arms also have been performed worldwide, but finger hearts are also called Korean Finger Hearts because of its association with the rise ofSouth Korean pop culture.[2][3][4][5]
InSouth Korea, it is a popular symbol among Korean celebrities (namely actors and singers) and their fans, and popularly performed using the thumb and index finger.[6]
Although various instances of finger hearts may be found from before 2010, namely in K-pop musicianG-Dragon's childhood photo[7]), finger hearts are considered to have been first popularized by actressKim Hye-soo[6][8][9] then in theK-pop community byInfinite'sNam Woohyun in 2011.[10][11][12]
The thumb and index finger gesture has become popular across Asia due to the popularity ofK-pop andKorean dramas. Notable South Korean celebrities – includingG-Dragon andPSY – as well as groups includingExo andBTS, have popularized the gesture to a wider international audience.[citation needed]
During the2018 Winter Olympics inPyeongchang,The North Face provided gloves with highlighted thumb and index finger sleeves to highlight this symbol.[13]
In 2021 the finger heart was added toUnicode 14.0 andEmoji 14.0 with the codepointU+1FAF0 🫰HAND WITH INDEX FINGER AND THUMB CROSSED as "Hand with Index Finger and Thumb Crossed".[14]
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