Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messaging app KakaoTalk, on Thursday said it will launch a new mobile selfie application called KakaoTalk Cheez this month.

The app will allow users to take photos and videos, and decorate them with various moving stickers, filters as well as Kakao’s flagship Kakao Friends characters. 

Some standout features will include a function which digitally decorates a user’s face to resemble a Kakao Friends character and an option through which a user can digitally take a selfie with a character.

Users will be able to use the pictures and videos taken through the app as their profile picture or video on KakaoTalk, the company said.

“KakaoTalk Cheez will allow users to develop their own unique profiles and enjoy mobile chatting in a fun and interactive way,” Chung Hyun-joo, the director of the app’s development team at Kakao, said in a statement.

Kakao is accepting reservations for the app from Aug. 4-12 -- ahead of its official release -- through http://cheez.kakao.com. Those who sign up will receive a free Ryan sticker filter and be alerted when the app officially launches.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)