the ki sisters

This meme began to gain popularity starting with a tweet posted on X (formerly Twitter) on November 22, 2024. It then rapidly spread across various international social media platforms such as Reddit, Discord, TikTok, and Instagram, gaining significant popularity and was even listed on 'Know Your Meme'. In Korea, it started to become popular through "reverse importation" from December 2024, based on its overseas popularity.

The 'Queen never cry' meme originated from episode 34, 'Queen Family,' of the Naver webtoon 'The Ki Sisters'. In this scene, when newborn baby Laura cries, her mother Serena sternly says, "Queen never cry," and baby Laura immediately stops crying and crosses her arms with a solemn expression. This meme is used to humorously convey the message of remaining strong, composed, and unshaken in any situation. Grammatically, "Queens never cry" or "A Queen never cries" would be correct, but the original ungrammatical phrasing is often praised for adding to the meme's 'absurd' charm.

"The Ki Sisters" is pronounced as "Thuh Key Sis-ters."

This meme has spread through various domestic and international online communities and social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, Discord, TikTok, and Instagram. It is widely used, including being parodied in various game fandoms (e.g., League of Legends, Limbus Company, Honkai: Star Rail, Goddess of Victory: Nikke) and idol fandoms. Therefore, it is not limited to a specific age or gender, but is popular among all generations of both men and women who actively consume online content.

• When showing resilience and steadfastness in difficult or sad situations, people use images parodying the scene along with the phrase "Queen never cry."
• The official Duolingo account parodied the meme using its own characters with the phrase "Uwaaah Queen never cry."

• STAYC's Sieun and Park Nam-jung released a video parodying the meme with the title "Dad told me not to cry..."

• In 'Acaplanet Among Us Squid Game 2,' when Participant #4 told Participant #22, "Queen never cry," the host responded with "How dare you talk about memes!!!" and eliminated both participants.

While this meme is primarily used to express resilience in humorous situations, it can disrupt the atmosphere in overly serious or solemn contexts. In particular, as seen in the 'Squid Game' parody example, using the meme may be considered inappropriate in situations requiring respect for specific rules or circumstances, so caution is advised. Furthermore, since the meme originated from a scene leaked from a paid preview episode of the original webtoon, it is important to respect the original creator's copyright. Fortunately, the original author has permitted the free use of the meme.