A hot beverage. A triangular warning sign. A bolt of lightning representing high voltage. An umbrella in the rain.

These are all universally recognizable emoji one can find on every modern smartphone and computer, but what do they all have in common? The surprising answer: North Korea.

These characters, which have become the standard for pictographic messaging around the world, may seem at odds with a regime that heavily restricts the laws of language and communication within the country and reportedly prohibits the use of playful emoji like the heart symbol.

However, long before emoji became a global visual language,