What does ‘Ningning is the maknae’ mean? Viral meme explained

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As a long-time K-pop enthusiast and someone who’s spent countless hours on Duolingo trying to master Korean, I find the ‘Ningning is the maknae’ meme absolutely hilarious! It’s a perfect blend of cultural misunderstandings and internet humor that resonates with many of us who are trying to navigate the complexities of Korean culture.

The ‘Ningning is the maknae’ meme featuring the K-pop idol from aespa is rapidly spreading on TikTok and various social media sites. For those unfamiliar with this trend, here’s a quick explanation:

The ‘Ningning is the maknae’ meme has swept through TikTok. This trend started in late November, following a post by TikToker ludicrousdonut who shared a reaction video criticizing Aespa’s Ningning for eating cake before her group members during a live stream.

In Korean culture, “maknae” refers to the youngest member in a group. Traditionally, they are expected to wait for their elders to start eating first as a gesture of respect. However, in a video that sparked a lot of discussion, Ningning (whose real name is Ning Yizhuo) disregarded this custom by taking a bite of cake while her bandmates were praying.

On November 20th, Ludicrousdonut expressed astonishment at this event, commenting, “In Korea, it’s customary to wait for the elders to eat first. It’s surprising that Ningning, who is the youngest (maknae), ate before everyone else.” This TikTok clip garnered over a million views and ignited a flurry of memes.

‘Ningning is the maknae’ meme goes viral

Initially, the TikToker insisted her video was a joke, but it sparked numerous parodies. On November 21st, Twitter user sieunistaken re-shared the clip with the caption “Me after my first month of learning Korean on Duolingo“, which garnered over 14,000 likes and 531,000 views.

On November 25th, I shared a revised fan cam using audio from the original video, turning initial criticism into admiration by reinterpreting “Ningning ate” as slang for being exceptional at something. This fan cam quickly gained over 635,000 views in merely two days.

As TikTok and X platform users added captions to the initial video, they started using humor to express their lack of knowledge about Korean culture and language.

“Me, feeling victorious after successfully singing a K-pop tune and pronouncing one Korean word accurately.

The meme lives on strongly across various social media sites such as TikTok and X, earning countless likes and views through shared videos.

Some individuals have reshared the video in which ludicrousdonut stated that she was merely joking, with accompanying comments such as “Me when I lie and get caught so I change my story,” or “When I make a joke about an online reference and people look at me puzzled instead of laughing.

I’ve stumbled upon another internet sensation that’s been making waves on TikTok – not unlike the viral “I get it now” phrase that went viral before.

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2024-11-27 21:28