# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/21 "2012-10-19T16:55:00Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > 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. I usually chide someone who uses it like that with ‘Rugs are Oriental, people are Asian.’ ---
**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, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/22 "2012-10-19T18:49:37Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I usually chide someone who uses it like that with ‘Rugs are Oriental, people are Asian.’ If a term was commonly used at a time when people were not as fully enlightened as we are today, then the term is racist and/or insensitive and shouldn’t be used. ---
**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, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/23 "2012-10-19T18:52:43Z")
> [@EdwardLost](#): > > If a term was commonly used at a time when people were not as fully enlightened as we are today, then the term is racist and/or insensitive and shouldn’t be used. So, we shouldn’t say “Asian” either then. ---
**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, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/24 "2012-10-19T19:00:36Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > So, we shouldn’t say “Asian” either then. It’s OK now, but it will be racist before long - ten years, maybe twenty. Same with African-American. It’s a conveyor belt. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/25 "2012-10-19T19:01:06Z")
> [@ryanl](#): > > This phenomenon is seen (to a degree) in some American women. See uptalk or high rising terminal. I seem to recall, in my ancient youth in the 1970s, that women’s voices were distinctly lower in pitch than the voices of girls my own age. Today, even adult women seem to talk in high-pitched girly voices. Is that a generational thing? ---
**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 20, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/26 "2012-10-20T05:34:03Z")
Many years ago when I was in a graduate school, a freshman from Inch’ŏn wanted to date me. A mutual friend was pushing us together. But when I talked to her, she would go off into a singsongy high-pitched voice as though she was still in grade school. That was a deal-breaker. She seemed too young for me in the first place, and her childish manner settled it for me. I always thought it was just her, though, and didn’t think of attributing it to any national customs. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/27 "2012-10-20T05:53:02Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Good God, that’s awful. Cute girls, but that _singing_…ugh. I’m glad people get my point. I was trying to find a video of her talking like that, which is worse, but had to settle for this. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/28 "2012-10-20T08:23:47Z")
> [@mil0](#): > > 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. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSOOiMDGiY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSOOiMDGiY) > miss A - I don’t need a man > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K64mb5KUhhs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K64mb5KUhhs) > Gain - Bloom > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCEcWcIww5k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCEcWcIww5k) > Ailee - I will show you And my favourite “Because I Am a Woman” by IU (the only K-Pop singer I like) : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ8VME7gT2k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ8VME7gT2k) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/29 "2012-10-20T08:49:24Z")
> [@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/) This is part of the reason why, while I’m an anime fan, I generally prefer dubs. Not that _all_ Japanese voice actresses sound like that, thankfully, but it’s a tad skewed…in English, at worst, at least there’s a different _variety_ of squeaky girl’s voices. (Also why Japanese porn doesn’t do it for me…it always sounds like the Monty Python Mouse Xylophone.) ---
**Author:** ![Greekfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@Greekfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greekfreak)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/30 "2012-10-20T23:45:47Z")
I’ve lived in Korea since 2000. The word you’re looking for is “WHINE”. If it’s not taught to children outright, then it’s completely tolerated–Korean youngsters often learn from a young age to whine and they’ll get what they want (like children all over the world), and it often carries over through their adult life. We were taught to expect a slap or worse if we behaved like that, especially in public, and I think it’s a better way, to be honest. Mind you I don’t have kids, nor do I want any. Young couples here play fight all the time and it’s really something to see the broad whine and mock slap the fella on the shoulder, as if to say: “oh, you masher!” ---
**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 21, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/31 "2012-10-21T00:04:09Z")
**EdwardLost** I tried to PM you but you don’t have them enabled - any chance of starting a thread about your NK experience? ---
**Author:** ![Woodenspoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bc79bd/32.png) [@Woodenspoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woodenspoon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/32 "2012-10-21T01:19:27Z")
chinese children in chinese tv are far worse. excessively cloying “cuteness” where high pitched children play cute for the camera is pretty common, its mugging to the nth degree, it just grates on my ears. the women also have annoyingly high voices, its not just the voices but the wailing and over acting. but i guess thats just part of the mediocrity of their media in general… korea is a different thing as they have some decently creative media now. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/33 "2012-10-21T01:42:44Z")
Cute girls being girlish… What the hell’s wrong with you all? ---
**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 21, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/34 "2012-10-21T02:16:58Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Cute girls being girlish… > > What the hell’s wrong with you all? They’re not being “girlish”, they’re being like squeally babies. It’s annoying at best, disturbing at worst. I do understand the idea of youth being attractive in women, but youth basically just means not having wrinkles or saggy tits, attributes you’ll find in the normal 23 year old. It doesn’t mean being a frigging kid. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/35 "2012-10-21T02:34:17Z")
> [@Greekfreak](#): > > I’ve lived in Korea since 2000. The word you’re looking for is “WHINE”. Yes, that’s the word. I work with a school of Korean exchange high school girls, and that’s how I would describe it. However, they only turn it on in certain contexts. We constantly create (and re-create) our identity on an on-going basis by the way we choose to talk–whether consciously or not–and Korean girls are no exception. This particular kind of speech just happens to be marked for many of us. ---
**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 21, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/36 "2012-10-21T04:24:12Z")
The “cute girls are girlish” idea allows an element of pedophilia to enter mainstream Japanese pornography far more than would be tolerable for mass production in the West (even Germany). [Lolicon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolicon), and it’s [mandatory school-uniform complement](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burusera), is a standard genre. ---
**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 21, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/37 "2012-10-21T05:52:30Z")
> [@mil0](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K64mb5KUhhs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K64mb5KUhhs) > Gain - Bloom That was six minutes and fifteen seconds of utterly awful. Seems like an odd choice if your intent is to not have people give up on the genre. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/38 "2012-10-21T06:07:34Z")
I am in Korea right now. There’s definitely a “culture of cutesiness” here, but not all womwn (and not all girls; I’m a teacher) buy into babytalk as a way of being attractive. One of the most popular girl groups here is 2NE1, a quartet of gals who definitely know how to use the lower register of their voices. ---
**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 21, 2012, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/40 "2012-10-21T07:57:15Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > [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. As soon as I started to read that paper, I could tell it was written in the mid 90s. I checked and sure enough. 1995. The 1980s were an interesting period in Japan. I was here in 81-83, 84, 87, 89 and then 1990. All these young women doing _kawaii_ in the 80s and now in their late 40s and early 50s now. How they’ve changed. _Kawaii_ came, but changed. Can’t say I terribly miss it. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158/41 "2012-10-21T17:35:04Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I lasted about 25 seconds into that one, which is better than most J-Pop songs. > > Japan Resident – decidedly NOT a J-Pop fan. Ya, not even sure if I lasted even that long. Eye of the beholder, matter of taste and all bla bla bla, but my god that’s awful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korean-girls-sounding-like-babies/638158.md?page=3)