Why don't you dye?
By Park Moo-jong
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When President Moon Jae-in nominated Kang Kyung-wha as his first foreign minister against all odds in May, what caught the attention of the people first of all was apparently the 62-year-old woman's silver hair perfectly in style.
Asked why she does not dye her hair (to look younger), she said she didn't want to cover up her true form despite her mother's begging.
Moon, 64, also has silver hair, partially, and his campaigners in the previous presidential election, continuously begged him to tint his hair black in order to "improve his image," to no avail. And he won.
But hair coloring has become more and more common these days among not only young people, especially girls, but also senior citizens, either to look prettier or younger basically.
The hair dye industry is growing so fast that not only cosmetic and pharmaceutical firms, but also household goods makers got involved in it, to the delight of the advertisement business. Beauty parlors and barbers at public baths, called "sauna" here, are gaining good income.
Traditionally, Koreans' hair color is black, with a few having dark brown hair. Until about a decade ago, hair dyeing used to be limited to those who wanted to hide their gray hair and to look younger than their age.
Over the past decades, hair dyeing brought back color into the lives of millions of men and women, since white, gray or silver hair is not only caused by old age but also a host of reasons, such as an improper diet, stress and heredity, as well as the problem of ``saechi,'' or prematurely gray hair among young people.
Of course, there were some ``brave'' young girls who dared change their hair color from black to light brown by bleaching it with beer, catching the eyes of pedestrians on the street and sometimes making them frown.
The hair colors of Koreans today, however, are as diverse as the different colors of signboards on streets, ranging from black, brown, yellow, red, blue and green to pink.
Yet, these days, nobody cares whatever. For them, getting a new look is always fun and they feel a bit more confident after.
Apart from addressing the problem of graying hair, coloring appears to be an ideal way for young people to literally give a new shade to their lifestyles.
As an indicator of this trend, nearly eight out of every 10 people in their 20s have dyed their hair, and it is not that easy to find black-haired young people on the streets these days.
Since middle and high school authorities still ban their students from coloring their hair, the students dye their hair brown or brunet immediately after vacation starts and return to black or dark colors just before it ends.
Why do the young people dye their hair ``wild and crazy'' colors? Is it to get attention or does it reflect personality?
Males cited personality (17.3 percent) and fashion (16 percent), while females stated that they do it to change their image (16 percent) and to look beautiful (15.1 percent), according to a recent survey.
Many young people say that they love the fact that they can change their hair to the color of their choice. Namely, they enjoy freedom. Parents seldom have a voice. They say they dye their hair because they love change, yearn to look different, want to feel refreshed and love the attention they get.
And they apparently wish to change their hair color due to prevailing fashion trends as well as the influence of entertainers with colored hair.
History shows the symbolic nature of hair. The Bible story of Samson, who lost his magnificent power after his lover Delilah cut his hair while he was asleep, symbolizes the importance of free hairstyle.
The tonsured head of a Buddhist monk indicates resolute severance from the world. Everybody knows that the military and prison authorities force soldiers and prisoners to have crew cuts for effective management and control.
The long hair that dominated our society in the era of 1960-1970 was an expression of resistance to the then military dictatorship, and police used to launch a massive crackdown on men with long hair reaching to the neck and below with scissors and hair trimmers on the streets.
Damage from hair dyeing has been also increasing sharply due to chemical ingredients. The reported side effects include burning and irritation of the scalp, loss of hair and even vomiting and diarrhea, although experts say there will be no serious problems if allergy tests are done ahead of time.
Very recently, Prof. Kefah Mokbel, a breast cancer surgeon at the Princess Grace Hospital in central London, advised that women should dye their hair only two to five times a year and use products with more natural ingredients, such as beetroot, to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
I doubt that young people changing their hair color really symbolizes freedom or their personality, although people maybe apt to emulate top singers or sports starts who suddenly appear with blonde or green hair. Imagine if your child returned home on a certain day with their hair dyed red or green. Would you like this? I don’t think you would. Most parents will say, ``Not my children."
However, the hair color change by senior citizens mostly over 60 from gray or white to their earlier color of black is quite different. Looking younger with (dyed) black hair is better than looking old with white hair.
I am one of those men who do dye their hair periodically ― every other month ― though President Moon and Minister Kang do not. (May be because I am neither a politician nor a high-profile bureaucrat like them?). I am earning more than losing thanks to my "black" hair.
Park Moo-jong (moojong@ktimes.com or emjei29@gmail.com) is a standing advisor of The Korea Times. He served as president-publisher of the nation's first English newspaper founded in 1951 from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter for the daily since 1974.