KIMKUN: UNLIMITED

In society, we live behind countless roles and masks. All these selves—contradictory, fragmented, and sometimes painfully honest—come together to shape who we are. As KIMKUN continues to shift and expand within anonymity, is this a way of hiding identity, or rather, a new way of revealing it? The face we believe we are concealing could it be a mask, or perhaps the truest self-portrait?

KIMKUN is both the anonymous stranger we pass by every day, and another version of ourselves within. The series reinterprets a singular form through repetition and variation, questioning the uncertainty of identity and the universality of the individual. While the world demands classification and definition, this figure resists, existing beyond all fixed categories.

Standing without exaggeration, KIMKUN says nothing—yet he stares. He is anonymous, yet specific. Unidentifiable, yet leaves a strong impression. He is no one in particular, and at the same time, everyone. Wherever the gaze lingers, new meanings are projected onto him.

In digital spaces, identity is increasingly manipulated, duplicated, and destabilized. KIMKUN visualizes this illusion of identity, blurring the lines between anonymity and personhood. Sometimes concealed, sometimes revealed his form is reborn differently in each viewer’s memory.

KIMKUN is not a fixed figure. He divides, transforms, and is endlessly reinterpreted through variation. He is more than just a form he is a contemporary self-portrait asking: Who are we, and how are we seen?

This figure leaves us with a single question: “What face are you wearing now?”

사회 속에서 우리는 수많은 역할과 가면을 쓰며 살아가지만,
그 모든 모습들—모순되고, 분열되고, 때로는 가장 솔직한 순간들—이 모여 결국 ‘나’를 구성한다.

익명성 속에서 끊임없이 변형되고 확장되는 KIMKUN의 모습은,
정체성을 감추는 방식일까, 아니면 오히려 그것을 드러내는 또 다른 형태일까?
우리가 숨기고 있다고 믿는 그 얼굴은, 정말로 가면일까, 아니면 가장 진실한 자화상일까?

‘KIMKUN’은 우리가 매일 스쳐 지나가는 익명한 타인이자, 동시에 내 안의 또 다른 얼굴이다.
KIMKUN 시리즈는 단일한 형상을 반복·변주함으로써, 정체성의 불확정성과 개인의 보편화에 대해 질문한다. 현대 사회는 모든 것을 규정하고 분류하려 하지만, 이 형상은 그 모든 범주를 교란하며 존재한다.

과장 없이 서 있는 이 인물은, 말하지 않지만 응시하고, 익명하지만 구체적이며,
고유하지 않지만 강한 인상을 남긴다. 그 누구도 아니면서, 모두의 얼굴인 이 존재는 시선이 머무는 곳마다 새로운 의미를 부여받는다.

디지털 환경에서 정체성은 점점 더 조작되고, 복제되며, 불확실해진다. ‘KIMKUN’은 이러한 현실에서 파생된 정체성의 환영(illusion)을 형상으로 시각화하며, 익명성과 인격의 경계를 흐린다.
때로는 감추고, 때로는 드러내며, 보는 이의 기억 속에서 다르게 태어난다.

KIMKUN은 고정된 인물상이 아니다. 그는 반복 속에서 끊임없이 분화되고, 버전마다 새롭게 구성되며, 끝없이 재해석된다. 이는 단지 형상의 문제를 넘어, 우리가 누구이며 어떤 존재로 인식되는지를 묻는 동시대의 자화상이기도 하다.

이 형상은 질문을 던진다. “당신은 지금 어떤 얼굴을 하고 있는가?”

Concept sketch

The initial design of KIMKUN deliberately adopts a “non-ideal” body. Narrow, slouched shoulders, an oversized head, a protruding belly, and a curved, withdrawn posture this figure departs from socially accepted notions of proportion and balance, serving instead as a portrait of modern imperfection and a silhouette of anonymity. This anonymity is not merely the absence of a face. By refusing to fix any one identity—by resisting definition— KIMKUN reflects the shared imperfections and subtle similarities that exist between us all.
KIMKUN does not speak, and his face shows no expression. Yet within that silence, viewers find themselves projecting their own emotions. This ambiguity is his power: he is no one in particular, and yet he holds the potential to be anyone. Though his posture may appear withdrawn or subdued, he embodies the weight of emotion, the heaviness of being, and the quiet fatigue that comes from navigating human relationships. This figure is not just a starting point in form it is a question carved into space, asking: what does it mean to exist as “myself” in today’s world?

Through its non-idealized body, KIMKUN quietly reveals the psychological posture and emotional weight of contemporary life.
 The small, hunched silhouette, the exaggerated proportions of the head, and the softly swollen form
 feel unstable and unfamiliar—yet strangely relatable and recognizable. And still, the figure is never unpleasant. Its gentle curves, simplified structure, and rhythmic proportions make this “imperfect body” feel approachable—perhaps even endearing. In particular, the radius of curvature of the body’s many curves was revised and refined countless times to arrive at its final form.

The creation of KIMKUN unfolds through a continuous interplay between 2D sketching and 3D modeling. The form begins on a flat surface but never remains a mere drawing. Through countless revisions and accumulated intuition, KIMKUN gradually takes shape as a sculptural presence. The initial proportions and emotional silhouette developed in the sketch phase were extended into a digital form through 3D modeling. Throughout this process, the dialogue between 2D and 3D continued the shape was constantly refined by moving back and forth between flat interpretation and spatial construction. Modeling, in this context, was not simply an act of reproduction, but a tool for the emotional calibration of form. The radius of a single curve, the tilt of a shoulder, the angle of a foot— each subtle detail played a role in shaping the emotional impression of the whole. This modeling process became a way of inscribing traces of identity and emotion onto a being defined by anonymity. Through these sculptural decisions, the ambiguous figure of KIMKUN slowly emerged into a tangible presence in space.