Korean ‘gummy smile’?

After reading comments on KPOP stars ‘gummy smiles’ on various forums such as ‘I can’t believe they don’t like gummy smiles…’ and ‘Oh this guy criticized Hyosung’s gummy smile too’ I was like ‘wtf is a gummy smile?’ All I could imagine were little Haribo bears under someones top lip – weird I know.

But it turns out it’s exactly what the name suggests. A ‘gummy’ smile. A smile where you show a lot of your gums. Trust Korea to come up with another name for it. Written in Hangul it’s 거미스마일 (geo-mi seu-ma-il) but apparently it can be referred to as 잇몸웃음 (meaning laughter/laughing gums) or 함박웃음 (meaning toothy smile).

Hyosung from Secret (yep again, she’s got everything baby!) has been known to have a gummy smile. And er unfortunately has been criticized for it. Not too harshly but  apparently she was told that “showing your gums excessively like that can actually be a negative for advertisements’.

Hyosung’s adorable ‘gummy smile’.

Regarding Korea as a whole, I’m certain that this ‘gummy smile’ business isn’t a massive deal across the public, but in media I suppose it can be treated as a small flaw like having a crooked nose that ‘needs’ to be fixed. To be honest, who really cares about ‘gumminess’. It’s a cute asset. But since the KPOP industry most likely rolls with striving for near perfection, of which a ‘gummy smile’ is not, differences will be pointed out if they don’t fit the set image. It’s not a matter of personal opinion really when it comes to this sort of industry which can be both a good and bad thing.

Anyway HALLELUJAH! The definition of a ‘gummy smile’? Showing lots of gum when you smile, ofttt. And  don’t mean the extra mint type. Laters guys! (:

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