Television Series
The series began in 2004 as part of the regular television program Common Sense. In the autumn of that year, a larger media campaign (print and radio as well as television) began promoting proper attire and neat appearances for men. The show encouraged short hairstyles, such as the flat-top crew cut, middle hairstyle, low hairstyle, and high hairstyle. It said that hair should be kept between 1 cm and 5 cm in length, and recommended haircuts for men every 15 days. The country's official hairstyles did allow men over 50 years old to grow their upper hair up to 7 cm long, to disguise balding.
An initial five-part series of the show featured officially endorsed haircut styles, while a later series went a step further by showing certain men as examples of how not to trim one's hair. With each example, the show conveyed the person's name and where they lived (or worked) via subtitles and/or voice. For example, in one episode (shown in January 2005) a North Korean citizen named Mr. Ko Gwang Hyun, whose unkempt hair covered his ears, was shown as a negative role model, with the voiceover commentary: "We cannot help questioning the cultural taste of this comrade, who is incapable of feeling ashamed of his hair style. Can we expect a man with this disheveled mind-set to perform his duty well?"
In the second series, individuals were interviewed about their hairstyles.
Read more about this topic: Let's Trim Our Hair In Accordance With The Socialist Lifestyle
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