17 July is World Emoji Day. Yes, it exists. To celebrate the new age of pictorial conversation, two tech giants—Google and Apple have combined forces to give us a sneak peek of the upcoming emojis on their new smartphones later this year.
Google’s new design includes a polar bear, a friendly turtle, hugs, and Singaporeans’ all-time favourite—bubble tea.
Apple, too, has revealed their new emojis consisting of a boomerang (not the gif), a dodo bird, anatomical heart and lungs, the transgender symbol, and a Russian doll.
In both emoji packs, you can find the iconic Italian fingers with fingers and thumbs held together in a vertical fashion. In the original Italian context, the gesture is as if to say, “what do you want?”, while in the realm of K-pop, there’s a brand new meaning to this.
The loosely clenched palm has a more endearing symbolism attached to it. The gesture imitates the dumpling silhouette, also known as mandu, and is associated with the phrase “I mandu you” or “I heart you”.
“I MANDU YOU”
– Kwon Yuri 😍MANDU HEART 💕 pic.twitter.com/gFs7lggOUY
— sᴏsʜɪᴜ ♡ #BROKER (@SoshIU_) January 30, 2020
For an alternative take on the pinched fingers, invert them to get the familiar “salt bae” gesture.
If we flip it, it’s the international symbol for a “pinch of salt” pic.twitter.com/SLvySM8sHI
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) January 29, 2020
Isn’t it cool how one emoji can mean so many different things across various cultures?
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