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N. Korea Bans Fancy Hairdos

Pyongyang decrees that hair is to be kept 'tidy and simple'

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 16, 2009 2:07 PM CST
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(Newser) – North Korea's dear leader, who favors the bouffant, is laying down the law on haircuts. Men must keep their hair short, while women should keep their locks unstyled and pulled back. Above all, Koreans are to avoid "foreign" hairstyles. "To keep your hair tidy and simple is a very important matter for setting the ethos of a sound lifestyle in the country," declared a state-run newspaper.

Kim Jong Il apparently decided on the new restrictions after seeing a North Korean sales clerk with a stylish foreign 'do, reports the Christian Science Monitor. "Is she really our own Korean woman?" he is said to have exclaimed. "Why is she giving up our own traditional beauty and choosing to model bad foreign habits of the capitalist?"

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, poses for a photograph with the soldiers of Korean People's Army 821 unit in this early April 2006 file photo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, poses for a photograph with the soldiers of Korean People's Army 821 unit in this early April 2006 file photo.   (AP Photo/Korea Central News Agency via Korea News Service, File)
In this photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, front right, meets with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, left front, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009.
In this photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, front right, meets with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, left front, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday,...   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Binyang)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 37 comments
jpr11011
Aug 30, 2011 2:05 PM CDT
It's always cool to be on a site when a new update comes into play.  Just now, I clicked another story and the opinions were different!  I liked the old ones better, but these are OK. 
Spudsy
Dec 17, 2009 12:16 PM CST
Yes. Most of our enemies are conservative countries. Interesting.
Spudsy
Dec 17, 2009 12:14 PM CST
Interesting how the countries Bush put into the "axis of evil" are just another spectrum of conservative. Iran is a religious conservative country, Afghanistan too, Saddam wasn't exactly endorsing gay marriage or universal health care. And how many times did I hear a redneck tell me to get a haircut back when I could grow the stuff.

 
hair • Pyongyang • Kim Jong Il • hairstyle • hairdo

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