Performed cuteness — a deliberate charm act.
Aegyo is a behavior, not a feeling: the sing-song voice, the pout, the hand-heart. Idols are asked to "do aegyo" on command. It can be genuinely endearing, deployed strategically to get something, or cringeworthy — Koreans judge all three.
From Sino-Korean 愛嬌, roughly "lovable charm."
There is no English equivalent. "Cute" misses it — aegyo is cuteness as a performance you can be asked to perform.
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