Male college students in North Korea have been ordered to sport the same distinctive hairstyle as the country’s young leader Kim Jong Un, Radio Free Asia reported on Thursday.
The order, issued in early March, was based on a recommendation by the ruling Workers’ Party that students adopt Mr. Kim’s trademark look — short on the sides, longer on top and parted in the middle — the report said.
Female students were being advised to keep their hair as short as that of First Lady Ri Sol Ju, it said, citing sources inside the secretive nation.
But colleges across the country were treating it as a directive, leading to resentment among students.
A similar hairstyle was reportedly popular among smugglers a decade ago.
