From Blood Types To MBTIs: Korea’s Fascination With Understanding Personalities

INFP, ENTJ, ESTP, ISFJ and any other combination of 16 letters that can be made have taken off in Korea nowadays. These four-letter terms are just some of the 16 personality types as constructed by the MBTI.

MBTI stands for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and it is a self-reported personality questionnaire. The test commonly taken is offered by 16personalities and is a free and simple version of the official paid version. The test aims to categorise individuals into 16 distinct personality types, breaking down each type’s strengths, weaknesses, relationships and even recommends career paths depending on the individual’s MBTI.

Each MBTI is made up of four letters. The first letter is either E (extroverted) or I (introverted), the second letter is either S (sensing) or N (intuition), the third letter is either F (feeling) or T (thinking) and the final letter is P (perceiving) or J (judging).

Although it is a good indicator, it is in no way a conclusive way of analysing personalities or surefire means of understanding an individual’s complex nature.

In 2020, the popularity of the MBTI experienced a steep spike in Korea with keyword search volumes for the personality test rising greatly. It has maintained the upward trend since, proving to have elicited a sense of curiosity in understanding variations in personality.

The factors contributing to the steep spike are varied. Given that it occurred in 2020, it seems that one of the most obvious reasons was the COVID-19 pandemic. People were spending more time at home and the commitments that normally demanded their attention were cut off. As such, their focus turned inwards towards themselves. Moreover, the simple and accessible nature of the questionnaire, the in-detail analysis provided and the compact, four-letter result makes it a fun and easy way for people to learn more about themselves, their loved ones and those far away such as celebrities.

The MBTI trend has great significance in Korean society. Almost everyone knows what their MBTI is. Those who don’t know are at least aware of what the MBTI is. It is also commonplace for people to ask each other what their MBTIs are as a way of breaking the ice and getting to know each other better.

Out in broader society, employers are also asking job candidates for their MBTIs during the recruitment process. There are companies that seek employees of specific MBTI types and reject those who don’t fall into those types. This is done to ensure that the company finds the perfect candidates who are better adapted to the specific nature of the role. However, many Koreans do not agree with this move, expressing that the MBTI test does not give an entirely accurate understanding of an individual.

The content creation scene in Korea has also been shaped by the MBTI trend. Instagram accounts dedicated to webtoon-style illustrations about the MBTI types are gaining many followers. Their followers anticipate the story-based explorations of each MBTI type’s behaviour. There are also highly popular Youtube channels doing similar things but in longer form content. The comments that these posts and videos receive share similar sentiment. The viewers feel understood by seeing themselves depicted accurately and they are able to share their own input about their and other people’s personalities.

A Korean company named ‘좋은일컴퍼니’ (‘Good Job Company’) have also created a chart that shows which MBTI types are compatible together and which are not.

It’s the feeling of being understood as well as the ability to understand others better that makes the MBTI so compelling.

With MBTIs so popular in Korea, there is clearly no way that it wouldn’t be significant in K-Pop as well. MBTIs are almost a given piece of information in introductions or profiles of idols. Idols, both old and new, discuss their MBTIs a lot and plenty of MBTI related content has come out of it.

In 2022, ENHYPEN took the MBTI test to see if they had changed from their original MBTI. They also debated some interesting but divisive topics that revealed the way they perceived different situations.

SEVENTEEN filmed MBTI content for their variety show “Going Seventeen” twice. The first time was in 2019 where they discussed their results and shared remarks of agreement or disagreement.

The second time was in 2022 when they added a fun twist to taking the test. Instead of answering the questions for themselves, they took turns to answer it for each other.

Though the MBTI has maintained its popularity over the years so far, it is not the first trend that has focused on personality. During the 2000s and 2010s, blood types experienced the same amount of popularity for similar reasons.

Like the MBTI, blood types were seen as an indicator of someone’s personality. Blood type As were seen as meticulous, reserved and considerate, blood type Bs were seen as individualistic but sociable, blood type Os were seen as optimistic, fun-loving and passionate and blood type ABs were seen as creative and unique.

Though it didn’t impact the way employers went about recruiting employees, certain career paths are recommended for certain blood types in theory. For example, given the cooperative and meticulous nature of blood type As, they are recommended to work in accounting and finance.

It also did impact other areas of Korean society the way the MBTI did. People asked about and discussed their blood types in private interactions. Even Korean content was influenced by the talk around blood types with it often being discussed on variety shows.

In 2010, boy group U-KISS had their own variety program named “U-KISS Vampire” in which their behaviour and mannerisms were analysed and categorised by their blood types as they experienced different things such as going on group dates, handling animals at a zoo or living together as a group.

Although the blood type trend has since died out for the most part and been replaced by the MBTI, it seems that the underlying interest to understand oneself and those around them still remains strong. It might be a different decade but the same curiousity and interest in introspective knowledge persists.

When it comes to the world of K-Pop, it has strengthened the bond between idols and fans. The idol-fan relationship is undoubtedly one that involves passion and dedication and fans are always inquisitive to know more about their favourite idols, not just as performers, but as people. As an entertaining and analytical way to understand personalities, the MBTI is perfect for fans to learn more about their beloved idols.