What's that snappy heart-hand thingie?

If you've wondered what this little drawing/logo that has appeared on our blog is, I'm here to explain!

I have been an ESL teacher for VIPKid for about a year and a half now. During that time, I've met nearly 700 different Chinese students and taught over 2500 lessons! I first became familiar with the "finger heart" through my students, wanting to "send some love" my way. It's a very simple gesture made by crossing your thumb and forefinger

towards whoever you would like to send a heart! Since the time I first saw it in my online classroom and learned what it meant, it is a frequent occurrence between my students and I. I did a little research about its origin and found that while it is very popular in China and all over Asia, really, the finger heart is said to have originated in Korea. It's been made popular by celebrities, K-pop stars (Korean pop musicians), and even polititians. It's a widely recognized way to say, "I care!" without having to say a word!

When putting together this blog page, I felt like it would be a fun addition to include the gesture.

And now that you know what it means, go send some hearts to someone and explain what it means so we can keep the love going :)

Check out this cool video about the brief history of finger hearts: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUOauUNqMYg