Annoyed, Not “Aegyo”— Hyeri Drops The Story Behind Her Iconic Meme

With a decade-long career as an idol-actress, Hyeri has had some iconic Pop culture moments, including her legendary Aegyo moment in the MBC variety show Real Men.

Hyeri appered on Real Men in 2014, where she attended a military training camp. While leaving the camp, she burst into tears while greeting the instructors. In a brief moment, she made a cute noise while teared up, and it became an internet sensation overnight.

♡ when hyeri invented aegyo ♡ pic.twitter.com/efl8bDqdic

— summer 🍳 (@yibugs) December 8, 2015

When Hyeri appeared on Dex’s YouTube show recently, the host asked her about that clip, imitating her “Hing” sound. He also complemented her saying that the video had him convinced that Hyeri had a cute personality. 

But in an unexpected twist, Hyeri responded that she had no idea why people found that moment to be cute. “I was actually annoyed at the time,” she added.

Dex reasoned that she was emotional saying her goodbyes, but the instructors still spoke to her very sternly, which probably elicited that reaction. Hyeri readily agreed, complaining about the strict behavior until the very end.

Turns out, what meets the eye is often not the full story, even when it’s an iconic meme like Hyeri’s!

You can watch the full episode here: