티모티콘

Timoticon is presumed to have first been used around 2012 in the League of Legends Gallery (LoL Gallery). It began to spread particularly when "<^오^>" was used in the final phrase of an explicit image series called 'Gourmet Teemo'. In January 2013, it became widely known to the general public when the author of the Naver Webtoon 'As If Umbi' used it. In 2020, Timoticon even appeared directly in Riot Games' 'Spirit Blossom Festival' video, effectively receiving official recognition.

Timoticon is a portmanteau of 'Teemo', a character from League of Legends, and 'emoticon', referring to an emoticon that expresses Teemo's smiling face. The special character '^' represents the smiling eyes, the 'ㅇ' in '오' represents the nose, and 'ㅗ' symbolizes the philtrum and lips, effectively depicting Teemo's perpetually smiling appearance. While primarily used to express Teemo's cute image, it is sometimes used as ^ㅗ^ to mock or ridicule someone, emphasizing the internet slang 'ㅗ' (which can imply a middle finger or "fuck you" in Korean internet slang). Furthermore, if a derogatory term is inserted in place of '오', such as ^씹^, it is used with a sarcastic meaning similar to 'Next XX' (implying "next loser" or "next idiot").

Tee-moh-tee-kon

This meme was primarily used actively by League of Legends players, especially in League of Legends-related online communities, including the LoL Gallery. It effectively conveys Teemo's unique cuteness while also having a teasing quality, leading to its frequent use even by non-LoL players. It is also often used to mock or ridicule something in aggressive online communities like DC Inside.

• To express Teemo's basic smiling face: ^오^
• To express sweating: ^오^;;
• To express different eye shapes: ◕오◕
• To express crying: T오T
• When directly referring to Teemo and using Timoticon together: 티<^모^>

It should be noted that for people unfamiliar with internet culture or with a low understanding of emoticons, Timoticon might be misunderstood as the exclamation 'Oh' or its meaning might be difficult to grasp. Furthermore, because it was frequently used to mock or ridicule in aggressive communities, particularly DC Inside where it originated, it can be perceived as a smiling face used to taunt others. In the past, there were instances where it was mistaken for the 'Noalra' emoticon due to its frequent use on Ilbe Storage, but this is not true; it has consistently been used by League of Legends gamers. However, due to its history of use in certain communities, it can cause misunderstandings, so it is important to consider the context and the recipient when using it.