# Korean girls sounding like babies **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158 "2012-10-18T20:06:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/1 "2012-10-18T20:06:30Z")
So when the gangnam thing started a month or two ago, I told myself to investigate K-Pop songs. Finally listened to a few today, and it seems to me, and I can’t really find a non offensive way of putting this, that the girls very often try to sound like babies, at least to my western ears. What’s up with that? They’re obviously doing it deliberately, by the way. It can’t be their accents cause I watch a lot of documentaries about North Korea so I know what a normal korean woman sounds like. ---
**Author:** ![solosam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/2 "2012-10-18T20:34:41Z")
In Asian cultures, cute = innocent = honest = pretty. The worst part is that “cute” often also equates to “infantile” by western standards. The “Cult of Cute” extends across all Asian cultures, not just Korea. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13320352/ns/business-world\_business/t/japanese-culture-becoming-cult-cute/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13320352/ns/business-world_business/t/japanese-culture-becoming-cult-cute/) > **[Kawaii](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaii)** > > Kawaii (Japanese: かわいい or 可愛い, IPA: \[kawaiꜜi\]; 'lovely', 'loveable', 'cute', or 'adorable') is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike. Examples include cute handwriting, certain genres of manga, anime, and characters including Hello Kitty and Pikachu from Pokémon. > The cuteness culture, or kawaii aesthetic, has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, persona... > **[The Cult of the Cute - Green Shinto](https://www.greenshinto.com/2011/10/20/the-cult-of-the-cute/)** > > Cuteness is highly treasured in Japan.  ‘Kawaii,’ is one of the country’s catch-phrases, along with gaman (endurance), gambatte (do your best) and shikata ga nai (it can’t be helped). You come across cuteness in daily life, on tv, and in the... > **[The Cult of Cute](https://crackingtheegg.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/the-cult-of-cute/)** > > Say hello to the face of Taiwan’s fearsome fighters. Aren’t they cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute? 好可愛噢噢噢!!! The navy boy in the middle kind of reminds me of the Pillsbury Dough Boy. I suppose this is Taiwan’s v… ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/3 "2012-10-18T20:38:35Z")
> [@solosam](#): > > In Asian cultures, cute = innocent = honest = pretty. > > The worst part is that “cute” often also equates to “infantile” by western standards. The “Cult of Cute” extends across all Asian cultures, not just Korea. :dubious: Saudi Arabia? Afghanistan? Bangladesh? Siberia? ---
**Author:** ![mil0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mil0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mil0)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/4 "2012-10-18T21:04:06Z")
I’ve been listening to KPop for a few years now, and I’m not sure what you’re referring to. The songs themselves? Can you give some examples? The only one I can think of at the moment is Hyuna’s version of Gangnam Style, which was meant to be silly. Outside of that, there’s the whole Aegyo ([http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/aegyo-in-korea/](http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/aegyo-in-korea/) ) thing, which usually isn’t present in the music itself. Here are some KPop suggestions if you haven’t given up on the genre yet. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EkSOOiMDGiY/hqdefault.jpg "miss A “I don't need a man(남자 없이 잘 살아)” M/V") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSOOiMDGiY) miss A - I don’t need a man [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/K64mb5KUhhs/maxresdefault.jpg "Gain(가인) \_ Bloom(피어나) MV") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K64mb5KUhhs) Gain - Bloom [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MCEcWcIww5k/maxresdefault.jpg "[MV] Ailee(에일리) \_ I will show you(보여줄게)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCEcWcIww5k) Ailee - I will show you ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/5 "2012-10-18T21:12:16Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > :dubious: Saudi Arabia? Afghanistan? Bangladesh? Siberia? Normal US usage of “Asian” generally does not include those countries, and refers mostly to East Asia. As best I can tell, this is nearly reversed in the UK, and is more likely to refer to residents of the Indian subcontinent than, say, a Chinese person. ---
**Author:** ![ryanl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b487fb/32.png) [@ryanl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryanl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/6 "2012-10-18T21:17:51Z")
This phenomenon is seen (to a degree) in some American women. See uptalk or high rising terminal. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/7 "2012-10-19T00:55:12Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > As best I can tell, this is nearly reversed in the UK, and is more likely to refer to residents of the Indian subcontinent than, say, a Chinese person. Not really. It’s more complex than that. If someone says “asian” to me, then I think “chinesey” (for want of a better way of putting it - I mean slanty eyed) But yeah, depending upon how things are phrased asian can totally refer to almost anyone east of Iran. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/8 "2012-10-19T01:10:54Z")
> [@mil0](#): > > Here are some KPop suggestions if you haven’t given up on the genre yet. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSOOiMDGiY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSOOiMDGiY) > miss A - I don’t need a man I lasted about 25 seconds into that one, which is better than most J-Pop songs. Japan Resident – decidedly NOT a J-Pop fan. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/9 "2012-10-19T02:03:54Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Not really. It’s more complex than that. If someone says “asian” to me, then I think “chinesey” (for want of a better way of putting it - I mean slanty eyed) > > But yeah, depending upon how things are phrased asian can totally refer to almost anyone east of Iran. No doubt that it’s very context-dependent. But in the US at least, no one would ever colloquially call an Indian, Middle-Eastern, etc. person an “Asian”. Basically it has all the connotation of Oriental without the racist baggage. Whereas **njtt** and plenty of others I’ve encountered will happily call a Pakistani an Asian. I don’t think either of us will call a Russian an Asian, despite geography. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/10 "2012-10-19T03:46:25Z")
I’m not sure “baby” is the right word. Maybe “girly”? And I mean extremely “girly girly.” I’ve seen it with Thai and Japanese performers and even some everyday ladies too. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/11 "2012-10-19T05:47:00Z")
Ever been to Korea? Somehow the wrong memo got sent to what seems to be a rather large ercentage of the population. The right memo would’ve been the one that says a full-grown woman using a tween girl’s whining voice affectation is definitely not cute. When I lived in Japan, the wrong memo sent out must’ve been the one that said full-grown women using a cartoon voice is sexy. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/12 "2012-10-19T13:41:03Z")
In my experience, Taiwanese girls do this the most - speaking with an artificial high-pitched voice on TV shows. Here’s a music video that demonstrates what I mean: [Guo Shu Yao (Yao Yao) 郭書瑤 (瑤瑤) - Free Love (愛的抱抱) - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Osj77g3sY) ---
**Author:** ![solosam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/13 "2012-10-19T13:45:10Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Ever been to Korea? Somehow the wrong memo got sent to what seems to be a rather large ercentage of the population. The right memo would’ve been the one that says a full-grown woman using a tween girl’s whining voice affectation is definitely not cute. > > When I lived in Japan, the wrong memo sent out must’ve been the one that said full-grown women using a cartoon voice is sexy. Agreed. I studied Korean for 2 years and lived there for 1. Anyone who has even a passing familiarity with Korea will instantly understand what you mean by the “Korean whine.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/14 "2012-10-19T14:26:11Z")
> [@solosam](#): > > In Asian cultures, cute = innocent = honest = pretty. > > The worst part is that “cute” often also equates to “infantile” by western standards. The “Cult of Cute” extends across all Asian cultures, not just Korea. > > [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13320352/ns/business-world\_business/t/japanese-culture-becoming-cult-cute/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13320352/ns/business-world_business/t/japanese-culture-becoming-cult-cute/) > [Kawaii - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaii) > [The Cult of the Cute - Green Shinto](http://www.greenshinto.com/wp/2011/10/20/the-cult-of-the-cute/) > [The Cult of Cute – Cracking the Egg](http://crackingtheegg.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/the-cult-of-cute/) Most eye-opening set of cites I have read in a long while. [This study](http://www.kinsellaresearch.com/new/Cuties%20in%20Japan.pdf), cited in the Wiki article, is breathtaking, from the OPs query explored from its graphical-technological to it’s conclusions regarding adult concepts of Japanese culture. A secondary cite from there to open: “[Kawaii is] estimated to be the most widely used, widely loved, habitual word in modern living Japanese.” Even today with media and travel, we know only shards about other societies. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/15 "2012-10-19T14:33:28Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > A secondary cite from there to open: “[Kawaii is] estimated to be the most widely used, widely loved, habitual word in modern living Japanese.” Oh, it wasn’t the prevalence of the word _kawaii_ that was grating to me while I lived in Japan. It was the run-up on the last syllable until it shamed the classic Memorex commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/16 "2012-10-19T14:53:27Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Normal US usage of “Asian” generally does not include those countries, and refers mostly to East Asia. As best I can tell, this is nearly reversed in the UK, and is more likely to refer to residents of the Indian subcontinent than, say, a Chinese person. So perhaps both American and British participants in international message boards should stop saying “Asian” when they mean “East Asian” or “South Asian.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/17 "2012-10-19T14:58:27Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > :dubious: Saudi Arabia? Afghanistan? Bangladesh? Siberia? Then there’s [U-pop](http://youtu.be/098yhkh9wJ0). Which could stand for either Uyghur or Uzbek; [these girls](http://youtu.be/5qOgZoe8QRI) is both (ethnically Uyghur from Uzbekistan). ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/18 "2012-10-19T15:11:10Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > In my experience, Taiwanese girls do this the most - speaking with an artificial high-pitched voice on TV shows. Here’s a music video that demonstrates what I mean: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Osj77g3sY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Osj77g3sY) That was creepy. Young (adult) women dressed up and sounding like six year old girls, with obvious sexual overtones. > [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Not really. It’s more complex than that. If someone says “asian” to me, then I think “chinesey” (for want of a better way of putting it - I mean slanty eyed) > > But yeah, depending upon how things are phrased asian can totally refer to almost anyone east of Iran. We used to use the word “oriental” to refer to Chinese/Japanese/Korean, but that seems to have become offensive for some reason that I can’t figure out. Too bad - it was a useful descriptor. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/19 "2012-10-19T16:07:44Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > They’re obviously doing it deliberately, by the way. It can’t be their accents cause I watch a lot of documentaries about North Korea so I know what a normal korean woman sounds like. I watched some of those documentaries too and, last month, I went to North Korea myself. No baby-talking women that I recall. If there is anything like a pop culture there I (unfortunately) did not get a chance to sample it. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/20 "2012-10-19T16:51:48Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > In my experience, Taiwanese girls do this the most - speaking with an artificial high-pitched voice on TV shows. Here’s a music video that demonstrates what I mean: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Osj77g3sY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Osj77g3sY) Good God, that’s awful. Cute girls, but that _singing_…ugh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158.md?page=2)