Baeguk

[beifengxiaoxiao]

Image: Far left: Typical topknot-and-beard hairstyle of a South Baegukese man
Center, Far Right: "Socialist Civilized Haircuts" promoted by North Baegukese state TV
'Let Us Cut Our Hair in Accordance with Socialist Civilization' - North Baeguk's Culture War Finds Fertile Ground in Hairstyles
Reclusive Communist State Launches a Propaganda Campaign to Combat "Devious" and "Reactionary" Grooming and Fashion, Insists Men shave their Beards and cut Topknots
Author: Dina Rheah
October 17, 5722

The Worker's Party of Baeguk has begun a new propaganda blitz demonizing traditional Kyo hairstyles and the presence of male facial hair. Starting April, all men in the Hermit Kingdom will be expected to be short-haired and clean-shaved in their official capacities as state servants. The iconic Kyo sangtu (투상) will be mandatorily cut off from every male head. In their place, the state will demand that men style their hair in short, "modern and socialist" forms as a replacement and act of cultural conformity to the Workers Party's vision of the new Baeguk.

Men who do not comply with the beard-and-topknot ordinance will take 20% reductions in state salaries and may be subject to probation, fines, and even detainment under the law. Given that the DPRB is a socialist command economy in which all people are officially state employees, the extreme sociocultural legal ramifications for a dissenting individual are obvious, not to mention the extralegal means by which the notorious secret police or other paramilitary organizations loyal to the party have been known to terrorize uncompliant civilians with.

The state has mandated, in place of the old styles, modern-looking "socialist" haircuts as popularized on the new State TV show "Let Us Cut Our Hair in Accordance with Socialist Civilization". "The two Devils of the Head", as the topknot and beard are being demonized as, have been totally removed from any depiction by authorities in state media. Of the new socialist haircuts, the most common of these styles for young men in the hermit kingdom are a sort of mid-long bowl cut, composed of relatively equilength bangs framing the head. The longer ones may cover the eyebrows and hide them, and different styles may be free standing or combed to one side or the other. More extravagant styles include artifically curled perm haircuts. For older gentlemen, the bangs of youth are done away with in favor of conservative slicked back hair, kept in place with the use of gels. Others may eschew products all together and buzz their hair into shortly cropped, spiky styles. Men will be expected to shave regularly, with an overabundance of facial hair being a new penalty in the amended civil code of the Democratic People's Republic.

The WPB officially proclaimed a crusade against all "signs of reaction in presentation" and has also banned the sporting of complex or extravagant hairstyles by women reminiscent of the court styles of the South. Nonetheless, despite the lip service given to the regulation of women's hair, the campaign disproportionately targets males. This much was evident in the press release given by the Party itself:

The devious and counterrevolutionary maintenance of reactionary and impractical, pathetic long hair by certain members of our society must be called out, scrutinized, and totally eliminated. For far too long the last vestiges of patriarchy, of oppression and feudal corruption have hidden themselves treacherously in the horrendous and unnerving forms of the topknot and the beard. The "two devils of the head" mar the appearances of the Kyo revolutionary masses and are incompatible with the revolutionary program of the Party. How can we allow such barbaric and outdated practices continue to exist in our glorious socialist motherland of the new era?

The New Socialist Male in the Era of the Jarip Idea is a rational and equal partner who presents himself cleanly, modestly, and modernly in the face of the whole nation and society in the period of socialist construction. We will pursue conceited efforts to whole-heartedly realize the modern socialist society free of feudal remnants and deviations such as the sangtu and beard.

Let every male rid himself wholeheartedly of spiritual, psychological, and ideological corruption and impurity! Let every man present a pure haircut and a clean chin! Let the glorious victory of the Jarip idea in the new era of Socialist Construction be revealed! Let the Two Devils of the Head be totally and completely eradicated! Let us groom ourselves in accordance with Socialist Civilization!

Analysts suspect that this further demonization of traditional culture serves as a convenient vehicle for the North Baegukese state to separate its national identity from the South, which has retained a monoculture of topknotted hair and the sporting of facial hair by mature males.

The hair campaign is just the most recent in modern campaigns under the fourth generation of WPB leadership to emphasize "socialist modernity" and to "combat reaction", undergoing a cultural revolution in hopes of removing the last remaining links of shared tradition between the North and South.

Anonymous sources within the DPRB report that average citizens feel oppressed and angry at the government's efforts to police their fashion and styles. Traditionally, long hair sported by both men and women has been a symbol of love and devotion for one's parents. This suppression by the Northern regime represents yet another weight on the backs of people who have to live under the Party.