NEW YORK, NY – You have probably seen the pose countless times without giving it much thought. Someone smiles for a photograph, tilts her head slightly and places both hands beneath her chin, usually with the fingers extended and the elbows pointing outward.
It turns out the familiar gesture has a name, at least in one culture where it has become especially recognizable.
In South Korea, the pose is commonly known as kkotbatchim, or 꽃받침, a term associated with supporting or holding a flower. The idea behind the pose is simple: the hands beneath the chin form the support while the person’s face becomes the “flower.” Korean-language culture guides describe it as placing both hands beneath the chin to make the face resemble a flower. The pose is sometimes called the “flower pose,” “flower cup pose” or “flower calyx pose” in English.
A Pose That Became Part of Korean Photo Culture
Kkotbatchim has become closely associated with the playful, deliberately cute style of posing frequently seen in South Korean entertainment and photography.
It is particularly recognizable in K-pop, Korean television and the country’s popular photo-booth culture. Modern Korean photo booths often encourage customers to move quickly through a series of playful poses, and the flower pose remains one of the standard choices alongside peace signs, finger hearts and cheek hearts.
The pose is by no means limited to teenagers or social-media users. Korean entertainment coverage routinely describes actors and other celebrities using the flower pose when photographers are present. In 2025, for example, actress Han Hyo-joo was photographed at an event in Seoul smiling while framing her face with both hands in what Korean media specifically called a “flower cup pose.”
Did Korea Invent the Hands-Under-the-Chin Pose?
That is much harder to establish.
People have rested their faces on their hands and deliberately framed their faces for photographs for generations. Similar poses can also be found outside Korea, including in Japanese photography culture.
What can be documented much more confidently is that South Korea developed a recognizable name and cultural meaning for this particular version of the gesture. In kkotbatchim, the hands aren’t simply supporting the chin. They are intentionally arranged beneath the face so the overall composition resembles a flower.
One Korean-language reference discussing the pose as far back as 2016 explained that it was different from simply resting one’s chin in one’s hands while thinking or daydreaming. The palms are deliberately positioned beneath the chin as part of a cute photographic pose. FC2 Blog
So while it would be difficult to credit one person or even one country with inventing the physical gesture, its modern identity as the “flower pose” is strongly associated with Korean popular culture.
Why Is the Pose So Popular?
There is also a practical reason the pose works so well in photographs.
The hands create a natural frame around the face and draw the viewer’s attention toward the eyes and smile. Tilting the head adds another element of movement to what otherwise might be a straightforward portrait.
Most importantly, it gives people something to do with their hands.
Anyone who has suddenly found themselves facing a camera knows the moment: Do you leave your arms at your sides? Cross them? Put a hand on your hip? Give a peace sign?
The flower pose solves the problem instantly.
It is exaggerated enough to communicate that the person isn’t taking the photograph too seriously, but simple enough that almost anyone can imitate it.
There Are Plenty of Variations
The classic kkotbatchim uses both hands beneath the chin, typically with the fingers extended outward on either side of the face.
But photographs today show countless variations.
Some people place their hands completely flat beneath the chin. Others turn the palms upward. Some move both hands toward one cheek while tilting their head in the opposite direction. Another variation uses only one hand, while group photographs often feature several people doing slightly different versions at the same time.
The basic visual idea remains recognizable: the hands frame the face while the person smiles toward the camera.
And it belongs to a much larger vocabulary of poses that has developed around Korean popular culture. Finger hearts, cheek hearts, V-signs and other deliberately playful gestures have become familiar far beyond South Korea.
Social Media Gave the Flower Another Place to Bloom
Smartphones and social media were practically made for poses like this.
Before digital photography, people generally had only a handful of photographs taken during an outing or special occasion. Smartphones changed that completely. A group might now take a dozen photographs within seconds, changing expressions and hand gestures between every shot.
Photo-booth culture has developed in much the same direction. Korean “Life Four Cuts” style photo booths, for example, encourage participants to produce several different poses during a short session, making easily recognizable gestures particularly useful. The flower pose continues to be taught as one of those standard poses.
That environment has allowed poses once associated with particular cultures or entertainment scenes to travel internationally with remarkable speed.
Someone encountering the hands-under-the-chin pose in an American group photograph today may have absolutely no idea that it has a Korean name. The person posing may not know either.
And perhaps that is the most interesting part of its evolution.
A simple gesture can move from television screens and celebrity photographs to photo booths, smartphones and social-media feeds around the world until people begin reproducing it instinctively.
Key Facts & Details
| Key Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Common Description | Hands-under-the-chin pose |
| What It Looks Like | Both hands held horizontally beneath the chin, often with the head tilted and a smile |
| Related Name | “Flower pose” |
| Korean Term | Kkotbatchim (꽃받침) |
| Meaning of Kkotbatchim | Roughly refers to the hands supporting the face like a flower |
| Commonly Seen In | Selfies, group photos, social media posts and photo booths |
| Who Invented It? | No single person has been reliably identified as the originator |
| Is It New? | No. Similar face-framing poses predate the current trend |
| Modern Influence | Korean pop culture has helped popularize closely related versions internationally |
So the next time someone smiles, tilts her head and places both hands beneath her chin for a photograph, you’ll know there is actually a name for at least the best-known version of it.
It’s the flower pose, and the face is the flower.
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