Kimunji: Kim Jong-un gets Kim Kardashian emoji treatment - Action News
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Kimunji: Kim Jong-un gets Kim Kardashian emoji treatment

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and American reality TV star Kim Kardashian West now have more in common than the ability to generate headlines with hairstyles.

North Korean dictator takes spot on short list of Kims with dedicated emoji set

Kimunji, created by Texas-based graphic designer Ben Gillin, parodies Kim Kardashian West's 'Kimoji' app with the use of another very famous Kim. (Ben Gillin/kimunji.online)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-unandAmerican reality TV star Kim KardashianWest now have more in common than their names andtheability to generate headlines with hairstyles.

Introducing Kimunji: A freeemoji setdedicated to the 33-year-old dictator and various things he's become associated with since taking the reins as supreme leader in 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.

Not to be confused with Kardashian'schart-toppingiPhone app 'Kimoji',Kimunjidoesn't cost anything to use nor does it include any nail polish, luxury carsor butts.

It's also web-based, independently developed, andsignificantly smaller than Kardashian's appwith just 12 stickers to choose from as opposed to more than 500 Kimojis.

Aside from one wink to the Kardashian cry face meme, in which a Kim Jong-un sticker bears a single tear, Kimunji'sstickers are based mostly on theNorth Korean leader's public image and news of his actions in recent years.

Two separate emojis of what appear to be missiles are most likely a nod toNorth Korea's recent launch of a long-range rocketthat the United Nations and others calleda cover for a banned test of technology.

A mushroom cloud appears to referencethe country's widely disputed claim of developing ahydrogen bomb in December, while a Dennis Rodman sticker plays on the former U.S. basketball star'salleged friendship with Kim.

As TheNextWeb points out, two emojis in the set also feature Kim's grandfather and longtime supreme leader of North KoreaKim Il-sung, who is designated in the country's constitution asits "Eternal President."

"Copy &paste to share with your comrades," reads a single line of text about the set of 12 stickers.

Web and graphic designer Ben Gillinof Houston, Texas,created theKimunji himself and launched it over the weekend, according to his Twitter feed.

However, it wasn't until Tuesday when his site was featured onProductHunt,a popular tech and design site, that it really started gaining traction online.

Some have criticized the project for making light of harsh human right's conditions in Kim Jong-un's country something that the top UNenvoy to North Korea said heshould be held criminally responsible forlast month.

"I know it's all in good fun, but I don't feel like popularizing a ruthless dictator is a good idea," one commenter wrote on ProductHunt.

Gillin replied that this was not his intention.

"That'sthe point," he wrote."It's satire. Unfortunately the original Kimoji is not."