Idol Focus: The Coveted Eye-smile
Posted: April 1, 2011 Filed under: 2AM, 2ne1, 2pm, After School, B2ST, BEAST, Big Bang, Dong-bang-shin-ki, news bites | Tags: 2AM, 2ne1, 2pm, After School, BEAST, Big Bang, Dong-bang-shin-ki, eye-smile, f(x), Girls Generation, JYJ, Kara, mblaq, secret, Shinee, Super Junior, Wondergirls 105 Comments
If there’s one thing that every idol group has, it’s a member with a winning smile… and a winning eye-smile (ala Lee Hyori). With the help of some over-zealous netizens, we have gathered a collection of the coveted eye-smile. Check out the candidates after the jump!
One’s eye-smile (Korean: 눈웃음, nun-ooseum) is basically the shape the eyes take when one smiles. With certain eye-smiles, some people have the ability to smile with their eyes without changing expression in other parts of their face. A particularly charming eye smile is definitely timeless, so don’t expect this trend to be ending any time soon!
The coveted eye-smile, as described earlier, is a combination of crescent-shaped eyes when smiling coupled with the drastic turn-around difference between smiling and not smiling eyes. (Eg. KARA‘s Han Seung-hyun is known for always looking angry unless she’s smiling.)
A winning eye-smile can come from both single- and double-eyelid eyes, male or female. The idols gathered in this post are (1) from idol groups, (2) believed to have good eye-smiles amongst all idols, not just within their own group, and (3) known specifically for their eye-smile within their group (in other words, the smiling mascot of the group).
Let’s get this ball rolling.
Girls Generation
Let’s start off with an easy one: Tiffany. At Girls Generation debut, many Korean pop music fans found it hard to memorize all 9 members, but Tiffany quickly rose to popularity, mostly because of her pretty smile and her crescent-shaped eye-smile. In general, the SNSD girls style has changed a lot over the years, but Fany’s eye-smile still remains as one of the treasures of this super-large girl group.
Dong-bang-shin-ki & JYJ
Sure, you have a lot of pretty boys in formerly one group, but Micky Yoochun, with his mischievous smile has that great eye-smile that makes you feel every smile is a genuine smile (though we can never be sure). While other members had other things going for them (cute Changmin, anime-looking Jaejoong, etc.), Micky Yoochun became the “smiling prince” to Dong-bang-shin-ki fans all across Asia. Now, he shares that smile with his entrance into dramas, such as “Sungkyunkwan Scandal.”
Super Junior
Actually, it’s hard to do much with this one. It was suggested that within Super Junior, Kim Kibum has a good eye-smile, but since he isn’t very active in Super Junior these days… We honorarily give the eye-smile award to the variety star Leeteuk, who is also known for his winning smile and dimple, which he is able to plaster on his face for hours on various variety programs. You may argue amongst yourselves on this one.
KARA
As expected, the adorable Han Seung-hyun is KARA‘s eye-smile mascot. Particularly being able to change her face from utter rage to a smile that brightens a rainy day, this kind of dramatic effect makes you feel the eye-smile’s power even more. The member even admitted on “Star Golden Bell” that every one thinks she’s peeved when she’s not smiling.
2NE1
Maybe some of you will be surprised to hear that CL holds the eye-smile title in the sassy 2NE1. Why not Dara? Netizens argued that even though Sandara Park has the ability to have a charming eye-smile, in general she doesn’t do the crescent-eye-smile very often, respectively in comparison to CL, who’s eyes turn into happy ever-so-slightly curved crescents. Some netizens argued that this isn’t really the crescent-eye they’re looking for, but regardless, CL’s smile looks more genuine than not and sure does give a change of feeling in her face.
Big Bang
Super smiley and happy-go-lucky Daesung is the always smiling with his half-crescent eyes that fans are certain his face is going to get stuck that way. Cheerful and consistent, if Daesung isn’t smiling, we’re sure he’s sick.
Not so fast, Big Bang has the honor of having two eye-smile princes. Taeyang on one side tends to be rather stern, but his smile sure does bring a lot of warmth. From his manly way of performing straight into his innocently happy smile, fans are certain his eye smile can melt any heart.
Secret
Jun Hyo-sung is known for her outgoing personality and her matching bright smile. Even though Secret sports the “glamorous” style, Hyo-sung’s smile seems to effortlessly appear. Falling for this easy-going type of charm, fans are certain her eye-smile has something to do with this contagious smile.
SHINee
Another mischievous goofball wins the eye-smile prince title. This time it’s SHINee leader Onew. Quite the jokester, Onew has a special skill for variety, bringing out so many laughs, he easily threatens the MC’s job on any variety show he appears in. Nunas love his boyish smile that reminds fans of his funny personality but also makes him much more approachable and friendly. Onew is also known for his eye-smile and his eye-shine (눈빛, nun-bit), especially when he’s telling a joke or messing with the other SHINee members.
Wondergirls
Wondergirls mangnae So-hee gains a lot of attention for her eye-smile. With considerably large eyes, she is able to be very expressive in her eyes and face. At the time of Wondergirls debut, many were worried about So-hee when she appeared on variety shows, because she was shy in front of the camera, but when she would crack a smile, all would be put to ease.
2PM
2PM‘s “Little Rain” Junho gives us another single-eyelid eye-smile that is all shiny-shiny. The 2PM goofballs were always full of smiles, allowing fans plenty of opportunities to catch Junho’s simply happy eye-smile.
2AM
2AM‘s nun-ooseum-jaengi is none other than Jinwoon. The 2AM singer completes is mangnae role by smiling brightly and often. At 2AM’s debut, many nuna fans loved their “cute dongsaeng” Jinwoon with his smiling eyes. In general, Jinwoon is known for having a “smiling expression,” even when he’s singing the saddest ballad. Nonetheless, we don’t ask for good acting from the young balladeer, we only ask that he keeps giving us that beautiful smile.
f(x)
Another mangnae Sulli has quite the eye-smile and brings a fresh and pretty smile to the f(x) group. Sulli’s bright eye-smile is quite inviting and matches well with her outgoing personality. At the time of the f(x) debut, many fans were drawn to Sullli because of her winning eye-smile and tall stature.
BEAST
Variety idol, Lee Ki-kwang has an eye-smile that makes all the fans want to smile along with him. Like Jinwoon, Lee Ki-kwang is blessed with the “cute dongsaeng” character and adds a lot of good laughs to any variety program.
After School
Newer member Lizzy got a lot of good buzz when she joined After School because of her charming eye-smile. Netizens find Lizzy’s face to be all-around friendly and kind-looking, and her pleasant eye-smile is easy on the eyes.
MBLAQ
Another variety idol, Lee Joon seems to live (at least on TV) between two expressions: mung (absent-minded/spacey) and smiling. Though his character on TV doesn’t prove that he’s the brightest out of the bunch, he could easily live on his smile, kind of like he’s doing now.
F.T Island
Rocker ulzzang Lee Hong-ki is not only the lead singer of F.T Island, he’s also their eye-smile representative. This multi-talented singer showed off his ability to become the “cute dongsaeng” character, complete with a pinch-worthy smile, in the idol drama “You’re Beautiful.”
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Of course the collective opinion of netizens doesn’t have to match individual tastes… So, who do you think has a winning eye-smile? Any more you’d like to add?
aside from idol groups …. lee hyun woo!!<3
who th fuck is that?
TH OLD OR YOUNG ONE YOURE TALKING BOUT. lol
i’m pretty sure yooree is talking about the guy from God of Study
Tiffany rose to popularity not because of any eye smile, but because she was the rudest, most ill-mannered bimbo out of a whole gang of rude, ill-mannered wenches. But I guess she can be given notice for having the most plastic surgery to get an eye smile, which changes every two weeks.
She should be considered a male idol anyway because she looks like a man…..until next week….when she will look like a different man!
gotta agree.. looks like a transvestite in the pic ^ ..
i agree but not up to the plastic surgery thing. she does act rude and very fake towards others and on variety shows. i think all of snsd is like that. the only pure ones are taeyeon and seohyun
Whoa! You’ve got some major butthurt issues! lol
Uhh, you can’t get “eye smiles” thru plastic surgery (you either have them or not).
And no, Tiffany doesn’t look like a man or a transvestite and I doubt that she had any surgery (or at least anything major) done.
Her nose is a bit too bulbous and she has a fairly prominent chin – flaws that could have been rectified by surgery, but she evidently hasn’t done so.
isn’t that picture old??? If it is she probably had some surgery by now.
She had loads of surgery.. and she’s not even korean.
i agree.
snsd members have plastic surgery done little by little to make it appear that they are becoming ‘natural beauties’
I agree, SNSD consists of two things Korean CEO-ajhussis like: Americans and ridiculously young chicks.
If SNSD has all of the above they will be successful because the indovietmalaypinays will buy anything koreans tell them to buy, they’re incapable of independent thought.
haha..this dumbuck is good in trolololo
no, don’t even reply to him!
there isn’t even a need to dissect WHO he is or WHY he’s doing it. fact is, he’s been very rude and patronizing, and he’s making the experience of going to this blog VERY unpleasant, and TROLLS like him need to just be IGNORED, because that is the best way to terminate the thing he craves for the most: ATTENTION.
JUST GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AS IF HE DOESN’T EVEN EXIST. HE HAS MANY DIFFERENT USERNAMES, BUT IT’S VERY OBVIOUS THAT IT’S COMING FROM ONE PERSON, AND YOU’LL BE ABLE TO TELL.
DON’T REPLY TO HIS COMMENTS. WE DON’T NEED HIS DISRESPECT, SO WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT IT. RIGHT?
;P
Spamalot?
What the hell are you talking about? What rock did you crawl out from under? Tiffany has had more plastic surgery than all the rest of the plastics put together times two, every time she gets “injured” or “sick” and disappears for a while, she comes back looking totally different and she still looks like a man!
Stop trying to defend the indefensible and go get your eyes checked or see someone about your delusions.
She’s american. What do you expect from an american?
LMAO!!!!! “She’s american. What do you expect from an american?”
Well, she should be working in a hagwan begging for korean people to call her ‘a real korean’ like other hyphenated americans. Instead she’s on stage being stroked by filthy CEO-ajhussis, simply because KOreans worship Seppos.
You fuckwit. She’s Korean but grew up in America.
BHUAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAA……AHAHAHHAHAHA U SCORED DEAR!!!!!!!hahahhahahhaha….
I agree she does look like a man in that picture lol
why is tifanny rude? may i know?just asking…
cuz when i like someone at first sight then know about her personality later i got turned off so yeah i wanna know ^_^
I will have lived a full life never to meet a person like you ^^
Even if that means i die tomorrow & never having to experience you maliciousness jealously & dirty sad/empty heart :D
Yes! people would rather be dead then ever be around you.
There’s other things to say but i wouldn’t want to be on the news responsible for your suicide :|
In fact retract everything before. I hope you get some help. Because everyone in this world should be happy & not depressed & lonely like you. So I hope you get things checked out, maybe get some friends & get a life =D
kthxbye
People, just ignore any negative, ignorant, stupid comments from Chequebook, Plaster, Cake, Box, WheelOfCheese etc. etc. etc. (all same person). This moron is actually replying to his/her comments, it’s like talking to yourself…
There’s a difference between expressing your opinion and just being ignorant and stupid…
Don’t even bother…Don’t respond…
Tin of Spam?
lol daesung,onew,sohee and others does not have an eye-smile.
it looks like this -.-
hyori’s eyes are eye-smile.
hyori’s ^.^
Stupid, why don’t you read the article before responding? GTFO!
tiffaqny is the best!
LOL, it reads like TifFUCKny… You a hater?
It’s other people’s opinion
What do you mean? I cannot quite comprehend you…
xD! you are so angry! I only was wrong with the name , I know the correct form to write it .
I love SNSD!!
Umm retard. Quite obvious that it could of been a typo. Duhh.
Cute! I think it looks adorable and it’s fascinating to see since my eyes are large, almond shaped and open. I used to covet it since I wanted to look more Asian haha. Isn’t that ironic? Now I’m thankful for these big bright eyes!:)
Just out of curiosity, can almond shaped eyes get eye smiles?
I don’t think so. I’m an asian and have pretty big almond eyes and whenever I try to make the eye smile, it turns out to be weird :/
Where’s Taeyang , the Most Successful Eye Smile !!! ~melting just thinking about his Smile , L0L .
Yeah! Taeyang
it’s not eye smile, it’s just asian eyes that closed up whenever you smile cause our eyes are so small on its own already
I can barely see their eyes.
it puzzles me when you say asian, do you mean the people who live in the continent, which includes the middle east, india, southeast asia, and koreajapanchina?
They use ‘asian’ because they want to leech onto the successes and perceived attraction of other more favourable ‘asian’ races. It’s a common thing for indovietmalaypinays to do.
Heeyyy … I’m indo ……. Not all Indos, Viets and Malays do that~!
why Big bang Teayang is not on the list????? Hell no!! he has the most beautiful smile eyes I’ve ever seen!!!
That’s only because you’re filipina.
And filipina are beautiful.
Well filipinas are too busy worshipping koreans to be beautiful.
I don’t know to laugh at the use of Filipina instead of Filipinos or the fact that a person has 2 conflicting opinions.
no, don’t even reply to him!
there isn’t even a need to dissect WHO he is or WHY he’s doing it. fact is, he’s been very rude and patronizing, and he’s making the experience of going to this blog VERY unpleasant, and TROLLS like him need to just be IGNORED, because that is the best way to terminate the thing he craves for the most: ATTENTION.
JUST GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AS IF HE DOESN’T EVEN EXIST. DON’T REPLY TO HIS COMMENTS. WE DON’T NEED HIS DISRESPECT, SO WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT IT. RIGHT?
;P
Face facts, Filipinas nor any other type of S.E. Asian are allowed in any of these groups, because Korean men find S.E. Asian really cheap and really ugly.
You’ll hate me for saying that, but it’s the truth and this doesn’t reflect any opinion I have.
What the hell are u talking about?? korean men find S.E asian cheap and ugly? did u know that we thought korean men and most of the KOREAN IDOLS OR SO CALLED ARTISTs are UGLY, PLASTIC, GAY and the fact that those IDOLS can’t live without make up because they need it to cover their ugliness??even the common korean are UGLIER then S.E ASIAN. and yes I’m S.E Asian.
no, don’t even reply to him!
there isn’t even a need to dissect WHO he is or WHY he’s doing it. fact is, he’s been very rude and patronizing, and he’s making the experience of going to this blog VERY unpleasant, and TROLLS like him need to just be IGNORED, because that is the best way to terminate the thing he craves for the most: ATTENTION.
JUST GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AS IF HE DOESN’T EVEN EXIST. HE HAS MANY DIFFERENT USER NAMES, BUT IT’S VERY OBVIOUS THAT IT’S COMING FROM ONE PERSON, AND YOU’LL BE ABLE TO TELL.
DON’T REPLY TO HIS COMMENTS. WE DON’T NEED HIS DISRESPECT, SO WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT IT. RIGHT?
;P
Where I’m from we also know Koreans don’t allow S.E. Asians into their K-pop groups because Koreans hate S.E. Asians so manipulate them out of their money. Only Americans are allowed into K-pop groups and a few Chinese, because they protect Korea because Koreans are a bit weak.
But Nickhun is Thai, and he’s by far one of the most recognisable man in Korea…but you don’t live in Korea, so you might not know that.
Nickhun is half Thai AND half Chinese. Everyone always seems to forget that.
He’s american, NOT thai.
You and King of Pop just need to quit this already; it’s getting really annoying! :-(
wait,,is lee hong ki ft island leader??
i think it was someone else, he is just the main singer..
love hong ki but as far as i know,,he’s not the leader….
please don’t get that wrong,,the leader will get upset..
exactly. he’s the main vocal. the leader is called jonghyun or something
Where’s Lee hyori?
She’s queen of eye smiles so she doesn’t need to be there.
Half have those crescent eyes and the other half are just chinky eyed.
all of them are so awesome! especially my two faves daesung and junho! <3 omg!
Most of these aren’t real examples of true “crescent” eye-smiles.
Also, simply having an eye-smile (or something that is considered one, but really isn’t) doesn’t make one cute or good-looking.
For example, Micky Yoochun isn’t really a good-looking guy and when he smiles, his not so good-looking features get exaggerated.
Tiffany and Jun Hyo-sung are so freaking cute when they smile.
It’s contagious!!!
Tiffany is an american. That’s the only reason you and your k-gods find her attractive, because you collectively will stroke anything vaguely american.
Is k-God kkap-God?
Sawasee-krup K-gods, I think.
Be warned the capital ‘G’ refers to the real God who isn’t Korean, apparently 1/3 of God is a jewish person, because God only talks to jews.
Junho….wow….very shinny eye-smile
TIFFANY!!!
Best Eye Smile..
Best fake-eyelid smile.
seriously…….the funniest and the top-scored comments!!!!!! hahahhahhahhahah!!!!!!
[...] of article referring to idols other than Dong Bang Shin Ki and JYJ. Please go to PopSeoul.com: http://popseoul.com/2011/04/01/idol-focus-the-coveted-eye-smile/ to read the rest of the entry if you are interested in reading about the other [...]
HOW COULD YOU NOT PUT LEE JUN KI ON THIS LIST??????
HE HAS THE HOTTEST EYES + EYE SMILE IN ALL OF ASIA
HE HAS TO TOP ALL OF SUCH “EYE SMILE” LISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
not all Asia….if it’s your opinion then i’ll be ok with it
my favorites are Sulli, Han Seung-hyun, Junho, Daesung, Jun Hyo-Sun, and Lee Teak’s .pretty much all of them.
you forgot to add ‘except tiffany’s”
oh yeah! Except tiffany’s.
she doesn’t need her name capializied
You only said Tiffany because she’s american and you know koreans love americans more than air.
In 2003 they did a controlled experiment to see which South Korean people preferred more, USA or air, and they found that 96% of them preferred USA and suffocated, the surviving 4% were found to be josunjuk and preferred air.
I agree with u
why kim hyun joong isn’t there ? try checking out his cuteness in youtube.
he is perfect then no need to be here.
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in a world where ladyboys and gender benders exist, i don’t understand why is it that everyone are surprised tiffany looks like a man… it’s her choice to look like a man so stop harassing her…
She looks like a man, but an american man.
omg LOL
I love eye smiles! They are soooo cute! Especially Fany’s!!
BTW, Kangin also has an eye smile.
I have an eye smile too and i love it!
True (:
Tiffany is so cute :3 And no i dont worship her cause she’s American. I worship god. Tiffany is pretty!
Kangin is sooo cute :3 He has a hot singing voice (;
In fact, all of Super Junior should of been up there, they all have sexy smiles <3
yay! lee hongki <3
WTF?? No leesungki??
amo leaving popseoul now , they made me (><)+(v.V)
Where is Kim Dong Wan of Shinhwa, his smile is adorable, esp with winkles ^^
Tiffany’s smile is cute, but not anymore till i found out her old pic, plastic surgery sure can change alot
Yay Onew-oppa! I think YoungSaeng-oppa from SS501 should be on heer! All of SS have great smiles, but YoungSaengie’s is my fave!!
Seriously, Tiffany’s eye smile is natural.
start at 02:35.
I KNOW AYY!
ONEW :3
u kiss kevin has also eye smile.
i like junho and kibum and leeteuk.
Yes yes , kibum and leeteuk <3
Yes i love Leeteuk’s dimples
Aissshhhhhhhhhhhhh Kibum and Leeteuk, hot stuff~! <3
Eunhyuk and Sungmin should of been there…. In fact the whole of Super Junior SUPER JUNIOR && SNSD FIGHTING~! :D <3
i agree with you Little Shawty!!!!
SuJu FIGHTING!!!
Yaa ;D SuJu && SNSD FIGHTING!~ <3
Kekeke yaaaa~~~~ Kibum, Leeteuk, Tiffany, Onew, Sulli, Joon, Yoochun, CL and Daesung~!!<3
oh no… u forget national chinguu Jung Shin from CNBLUE… he is one cute boy!!
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