How can you laugh at other memes when you can’t laugh at your own?
Related: Meet The People Behind These Viral Memes
K-pop stans are always ready to support their faves. Whether it be making songs chart or hyping idols up in their comments, they always make their love known. One thing K-pop stans also eat up is the memes. You’ve probably laughed at so many videos if you’re anything like us. From Chuu singing Smiley to Soobin’s “Bye guys, hi ladies!” idols are lowkey a gold mine for memes.
Of course, we only support memes made in good fun, and what makes those moments even better is when idols themselves are not only aware of their memes, but get in on the joke as well. We love idols who can laugh at themselves. And over the years, we’ve gotten a few idols who passed the vibe check when it came to fandom jokes. Check out some of our favorites below.
AESPA KNOWS NINGNING IS THE MAKNAE
@imyoungvibe NINGNING IS THE MAKNAE #karina #giselle #winter #ningning #aespa ♬ original sound – aeningking👑
We’re starting strong with Ningning is the Maknae. ICYMI, aespa mentioned the iconic TikTok meme at a recent concert, with member Giselle referring to it while talking to the audience. If you aren’t familiar with the lore of the meme, here’s a little internet history.
Last year, a video of the group eating a cake went viral. The reason? Ningning ate first while the rest were praying. While the visual of Ningning (who was wearing a large cross necklace btw) stuffing a piece of cake in her mouth while everyone was praying made many IJBOL, what caught people’s attention was a video someone made about Ningning eating first.
In Korean culture, it is a sign of respect to let elders eat first. It is usually applied, though, in situations where there’s a significant age gap. In more casual settings where everyone’s around the same age, it’s fair game for anyone to eat first. As the youngest (or the maknae in Korean), Ningning took a bite before the others. This did catch the attention of one TikToker in particular, who was gagged at the whole thing in a now-deleted video, which gave us the iconic delivery of the now-famous line, “Ningning is the Maknae.” The whole video is the stuff of chronically online legend, but that one line solidified itself in aespa history.
ZEROBASEONE CAN’T STOP MOO-ING
@alexanderbihn "Isn't that the moo guy?" Oh Matthew, they will never let this go 😂🐮 #seokmatthew #zerobaseone #kpop #fyp #foryou #sunghanbin #제로베이스원 #kpopfyp ♬ original sound – Alexander
A video of ZEROBASEONE member Matthew doing one of those voice games on TikTok made for a hilarious moment that ZEROSE ate up. In the original video, Matthew was challenged by a filter to use his voice to make a cow jump and crawl over obstacles. His vocal choices were creative, to say the least. This moment has sparked fans to “Moo-tthew” others, which means they use the video to surprise unsuspecting viewers.
The group has also used it, and Matthew knows it’s funny. They talked about the meme on a live, bringing up that someone commented, “Is that the Moo guy?” on another live Matthew was on. At this point, everyone has been referring to him as the Moo guy or Moo-tthew, a distinction that Matthew has proudly claimed.
CHAEWON AND HER C*NTY BOB
@irvizchae chaewon asking yunjin what does cunty bob mean (trans cr. agicheetah on twitter) #lesserafim #le_sserafim #chaewon #sakura #yunjin #kazuha #eunchae #fyp #irvizchae #kpopfyp ♬ CRAZY – LE SSERAFIM
LE SSERAFIM’s Chaewon is known for many things, and her flawless bob is one of them. It’s this bob, in fact, that led to this viral moment from 2024. Her hair was a favorite for a group of drag queens reacting to the 2024 VMAs. As she appeared on camera, they were gagged and said that she had a c*nty bob as they obsessed over her hair (and honestly, we probably would’ve done the same).
The video became a favorite for many online, eventually reaching Miss Bob herself. Chaewon and the other group members reacted to the video on a livestream, with Chaewon asking what c*nty bob meant. A giggly Yunjin told her she would tell her after the live ended. Whether Chaewon figured out the meaning of it or not, it’s a moment that will be remembered forever in LE SSERAFIM lore.
NAYEON LOVES HER CHEWING GUM VIDEO
@fluffy_2ice Nayeon🐰 2019 meme 😭😂 #twice #nayeon #kpop #idol #edits #meme ♬ original sound – Pemolz – ROBLOZ MEMES
TWICE’s Nayeon has had her fair share of memes. From her shy girl moment to her silly timelapse with Momo, she’s definitely a favorite for stans to use in their online interactions. She does seem to have a favorite, though! She mentioned in an interview that she occasionally laughs about this video of her in the Inkigayo waiting room where she was wearing pigtails and chewing gum in a manner that made ONCEs IJBOL.
KEEHO DOESN’T REALLY PLAY ROBLOX
@lilish1k HIS REACTION THO AHHAHAHA #p1harmony #피원하모니 #keeho #piwon ♬ оригінальний звук – lilish ☾ saw p1harmony twice
In P1Harmony’s interview with Buzzfeed UK for their series “Meme, Myself and I”, they reacted to many tweets and memes that their fans made. The whole video itself is hilarious, but one moment caught our eye. Reacting to a tweet captioned “kyo rlly be lying for fun 😭😭,” the video attached shows a compilation of two videos in which Keeho was talking about playing the popular game Roblox. He spoke about playing the game in the older clip, and in the newer clip, he said that he didn’t.
Being caught in the moment prompted a hilarious explanation from Keeho, saying that he was pretty much lying because he thought it made him look cool if he played. Considering he’s an idol, it’s so funny that he thinks this would make him even cooler than he already is.
LIZ, OUR GERMAN QUEEN
@gyr._.wjl “I’M FROM GERMAN😼” queen never lies 🙂↕️ #liz #ive #아이브 #fyp #foryou #xyzbca ♬ original sound – anyjxシ
Who’s your bias in IVE? Ours is Elizabeth Helga Muller. Ok, for some context, in IVE’s Eleven music, Liz wore an outfit that looked like it was taken straight from the German countryside. Naturally, it morphed into a running fandom joke that Liz is actually German and her real name is allegedly Elizabeth Helga Muller. It’s a highkey iconic meme among DIVEs, and it’s one Liz herself knows when she said that she’s from German. We love a queen who isn’t afraid to address rumors about their personal lives.
Continue Reading: Better Than The Original: 9 Celebs Who Recreated Their Iconic Memes
