Let's Trim Our Hair in Accordance With The Socialist Lifestyle - North Korea's Fashion Restrictions

North Korea's Fashion Restrictions

Such dress and hair standards have long been a fixture of North Korean society. Kim Jong-Il was known for his so-called "Speed Battle Cut" crew cut when he first came to prominence in the early 1980s, though he later reverted to the short sided bouffant favored by his father. After Kim Jong-Il succeeded his father, some of the state's restrictions on Western fashion were relaxed. Women were allowed permanent waves, men could grow slightly longer hair, and even public dancing was allowed. Despite such slight concessions during the early years of Kim Jong-Il's rule, obvious emblems of Western fashion such as jeans continued to be entirely banned, and long hair on men could lead to arrest and forced haircuts.

According to the North Korean daily Rodong Sinmun (Worker's Newspaper), the leadership was fighting a guerrilla war against the possible incursion of capitalism into the sphere of personal appearance. Along with long hair, untidy shoes were identified as the epitome of Western culture which, by imitation, would lead the country to ruin.