N. Korea Bans Fancy Hairdos

North Korea's dear leader, who favors the bouffant, is laying down the law on haircuts. Men must keep their hair short, while women should keep their locks unstyled and pulled back. Above all, Koreans are to avoid "foreign" hairstyles. "To keep your hair tidy and simple is a very important matter for setting the ethos of a sound lifestyle in the country," declared a state-run newspaper.

Kim Jong Il apparently decided on the new restrictions after seeing a North Korean sales clerk with a stylish foreign 'do, reports the Christian Science Monitor. "Is she really our own Korean woman?" he is said to have exclaimed. "Why is she giving up our own traditional beauty and choosing to model bad foreign habits of the capitalist?"
(More Pyongyang stories.)