NEWS.com.au | Long hair 'steals the brain's energy' (January 10, 2005)

NEWS.com.au | Long hair 'steals the brain's energy' (January 10, 2005): "Long hair 'steals the brain's energy'
From correspondents in Seoul
January 10, 2005

STALINIST North Korea has stepped up its campaign against long hair and untidy attire which its media says represents a 'corrupt capitalist' lifestyle, reports said.

North Korean state television, radio and newspapers have led the grooming drive, urging people to cut their hair short and to dress tidily, the BBC said in a dispatch citing broadcasts from Pyongyang.

Men were asked to have crew cuts with hair growing up to five centimetres in a twice-a-month visit to the barber, it said.

Not only health and hygiene but also intelligence was cited by the North Korean media as reasons for the crackdown on appearance.

Pyongyang television noted long hair 'consumes a great deal of nutrition' and could thus rob the brain of energy, according to the BBC."