'Joh-Da' Hand Gesture

Origin

"Jo🤙da👍" (좋🤙다👍, "nice") renders in text a hand gesture of alternately raising the pinky and thumb to the rhythm of the exclamation "jo~da" ("nice~"), by slipping 🤙 and 👍 emojis between the letters. It started with "Nangman Bubu" (Romantic Couple), a popular segment on comedian Kim Hae-jun's YouTube channel. In the sketch series, Kim Hae-jun and Na Bo-ram play middle-aged couple Kim Gi-pil and Na Gyu-ri; originally filmed at home, it evolved into content that draws natural reactions from older members of the public as the pair visit markets.

According to the meme roundup site Instablank, the gesture came from the Seongnam Moran Market episode of "Nangman Bubu," where an ordinary person the pair happened to meet at the market alternately raised a pinky and thumb in time with "jo~da." That the move came spontaneously from a passerby rather than a performer gave it a warm, funny charm.

Spread

The scene spread as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts clips, racking up millions of views, and became a big trend in January–February 2026. YouTube Korea even called it the "first meme of the year" for 2026. The segment itself was hugely popular too: in a January 30, 2026 article, Sports Donga reported that the main "Nangman Bubu" episodes had passed 5 million combined views and the Shorts nearly 10 million, praising detailed costumes and props such as gold jewelry and a beaded hat of their mothers' generation for completing its "hyper-real" middle-aged comedy.

Usage

• A universal positive expression attached to any kind of good thing, as in "today's weather is jo🤙da👍" or "lunch menu jo🤙da👍"
• Inserting the hand-gesture emojis into text, or actually alternating pinky and thumb to copy the move

Sources

• Instablank, "Jo🤙da👍 (Nangman Bubu hand gesture)" — the Seongnam Moran Market episode, the gesture by a member of the public, millions of views on Reels and Shorts, the January–February 2026 trend, YouTube Korea's "first meme of the year" mention, usage examples
• Sports Donga, "Starting with laughter and arriving at nostalgia: 'Nangman Bubu' Kim Hae-jun and Na Bo-ram's hyper-real romantic couple" (Kim Gyeo-ul, January 30, 2026) — the Nangman Bubu segment on the "Kim Hae-jun" channel, the Kim Gi-pil and Na Gyu-ri characters, 5 million main views and about 10 million Shorts views, costume and prop details
• FM Korea, "Uncle Kim Hae-jun goes to Seongnam Moran Market lol.MP4" — community sharing of the Moran Market episode