Aegyo

Ok, I'm a little lazy today...see below an interesting little piece from this website.

애교/Aegyo 2004.08.31

Aegyo derives from the Chinese characters "love (ae)" and "beautiful (gyo)." The closest English translation of aegyo would be "winsome," defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as "generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence." Not surprisingly, aegyo is considered a feminine trait, generally attributed to women who can charm men and elders through a careful balance of sweetness, cuteness, poutiness, modesty, thoughtfulness, and submissiveness. A woman with aegyo knows to blush at dirty jokes rather than guffaw along with her mouth agape. A woman with aegyo knows to let out a modest and appealing squeal and grab tight her date's hand when watching a horror movie.

Aegyo is considered such an essential female trait that there is even a plastic surgery procedure called "aegyo surgery" in which aegyo sal [skin] is created on the bottom eyelid to create a sweeter and more innocent appearance. With women's changing social roles and evolving sensibilities, however, there is more room now for women who are less coy and more direct. Lee Hyo-lee, for example, who is unafraid to talk about her bowel movements on national television, is one of Korea's top stars whose popularity derives precisely from her easy-going attitude and uncompromising honesty.

With this, I bid you farewell. Thank you to all the readers, especially those who took the time to send me feedback, ideas, and words of encouragement.

Junhee (June) Kim (jun_hee_kim@yahoo.com) is a student at Yonsei GSIS' International Cooperation.

I had no idea there was an operation to add sweetness to a gal...until now.