You won’t see any fabulously flamboyant long hairstyles or clip in hair extensions on North Korean women. The communist government wants to rid itself of western influences by also dictating people’s hairstyles.
North Korean salons will only allow women to choose from 18 pre-approved haircuts, men can choose from 10. Single women are required to keep their hair in a shorter style, while married women can choose from the more “fashionable looks.”
The North Korean government is also requiring men to keep their hair shorter than 2.8 inches & women to keep their hair in a short to medium length & style. The North Korean government believes that a person’s hair length can affect human intelligence & that “long hair draws nutrition away from the brain.” The whole “let-us-trim-our-hair-in-accordance-with-the-socialist-lifestyle” movement started in 2005 when Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea spotted a female & was struck by how westernized her beauty was & how different she looked from other North Korean women. He asked himself “why is she giving up our own traditional beauty & choosing to model bad foreign habits of the capitalist?”
What will they try to dictate next? We hope it’s not eyebrows!