Korean · 4 phrases
Hands: Hearts & Potatoes
Korea's hands run the full range: the finger heart you'll deploy hourly, the fist potato (주먹감자) you should recognize, the middle-finger wrist-flick you'll meet in traffic — and the beckoning-palm trap where the Western "come here" summons dogs and insults humans. Palm down. Always palm down.
손가락 하트 songarak hateu gesture The finger heart — 'I love you / you're adorable,' Korea's signature affection gesture. 오라는 손짓 oraneun sonjit gesture 'Come here' — done palm-down; the palm-up curl is for dogs, and reads as contempt. 주먹감자 (감자 먹이기) jumeok gamja (gamja meogigi) gesture Up yours — the Korean bras d'honneur. 가운뎃손가락 (엿) gaundetsongarak (yeot) gesture The finger — 'eat yeot,' Korea's fuck-you, with a local wrist-flick variant.