TOKYO (AP) — Asia's largest design event showcased an unlikely hero: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
The communist dictator was featured on key chains, T-shirts, and other artwork featured Sunday at Design Festa in Tokyo — an event featuring 6,000 artists from across the region.
One stall displayed greeting cards showing the leader, who famously sports a quiff, dressed as Elvis Presley and was titled "Jong Il B. Goode" — taken from the song "Johnny B. Goode" by another rock 'n' roller of the 50s, Chuck Berry.
In apparent reference to an ongoing international standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions — and following Pyongyang's test of a nuclear weapon in October — other cards showed the secretive Kim posing in front of spy ships and mushroom clouds.
Elsewhere, key chains depicting the leader tied up in Japanese-style bondage ropes were sold out. Also popular was a stall selling T-shirts emblazoned with cartoon images of the leader.
"Kim Jong Il was one of our most popular models," said key chain designer Hayato Sakai, 32. "It's just a joke. Nobody takes it seriously."
"I think it's a timely theme," said illustrator Naotoshi Inoue, 46, who drew the Kim postcards. The design event opened just days after North Korea test-fired at least one short-range missile into waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.
"If you think seriously about what Kim Jong Il is doing, it's so scary. But that's why it may also help to laugh," Inoue said.
Design Festa is held twice a year in Tokyo and is billed as Asia's biggest design event. About 60,000 people were expected to attend.
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