North Korea’s youth league chapter in Chongjin, North Hamgyong province, recently held a struggle session targeting young people with unauthorized hairstyles, Daily NK has learned.<\/p>\n
“The state permits ten hairstyles for men and 18 for women. After some youth began adopting non-socialist hairstyles in violation of these rules, the Chongjin chapter of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League conducted an ideological struggle session late last month to criticize the offenders,” a source in the province told Daily NK recently.<\/p>\n
Following orders from youth league headquarters to crack down on unauthorized hairstyles, the Chongjin chapter deployed monitoring teams to patrol main streets and university areas. Monitors targeted young people with permed hair or cuts longer or shorter than state regulations allow.<\/p>\n
While those with influential parents typically received warnings, the crackdown affected many young people, particularly university students, the source said.<\/p>\n
The Chongjin youth league responded by convening a closed-door ideological struggle session with committee chairs from all city organizations and universities. The meeting focused on strengthening rule compliance, collective control, and ideological guidance, while harshly criticizing liberal tendencies among youth.<\/p>\n
Offenders faced public criticism during the meeting and were accused of having loose morals. Two students who showed defiance when caught were notified of their expulsion from university.<\/p>\n
The expulsions sparked frustration among young people. “Do they really deserve such harsh punishment for a hairstyle when they didn’t say anything politically questionable? It’s suffocating how the government tries to control every detail of our lives,” one person reportedly said.<\/p>\n
Many youth argued that expelling students for minor hairstyle variations\u2014not even involving hair dye\u2014would only increase resentment toward the regime.<\/p>\n
“Many young people and their parents are saying these crackdowns are driving their disillusionment with society and desire to defect. They believe they could have a better life if they could only escape without being caught,” the source said.<\/p>\n