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[WHY] Korea's hair-itage: The history of head-shaving in politics

Published: 30 May. 2026, 07:00

SHIN MIN-HEE
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Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon shaves his head in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on March 23 to call for the enactment of a special act on the southeastern port city's ″global hub″ initiative. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

On March 23, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon stepped before reporters in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, and defiantly said, “Today, I’m going to shave my head.”

He then sat down, and an aide draped a white haircutting cape around his shoulders and ran a hair clipper over his head.

Democratic Party members in Gwangju shave their heads after issuing a joint statement calling for the impeachment of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol at the May 18 Democracy Square in Dong District, Gwangju, on Dec. 9, 2024. [YONHAP]

This was his way of pleading with lawmakers to pass the long-stalled bill aimed at transforming the southeastern port city into a “global hub” that fosters logistics, finance and other industries.

In the history of Korean politics, head-shaving ceremonies have been a recurring tactic used by people to show their resolve or make a dramatic appeal. The upcoming June 3 local elections, set for next Wednesday, are no exception.

Park Min-shik, the conservative People Power Party candidate for Busan’s Buk-A constituency, shaved his hair on May 21 to publicly reject calls for him to unite with independent candidate Han Dong-hoon.

Of course, head-shaving crosses into all political spectrums. Last year, lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) donned buzz cuts to urge the removal of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol from office ahead of his impeachment trial regarding his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.

Independent lawmaker Lee Un-ju shaves her head after holding a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 10, 2019, to call for the withdrawal of then-Justice Minister Cho Kuk's appointment and an official apology to the public. [YONHAP]

Female politicians have willingly jumped on the bandwagon, such as Lee Un-ju and Park In-sook, who condemned Cho Kuk’s appointment as justice minister in 2019 due to corruption allegations involving his family’s academic and financial privileges, for which he was later convicted.

Not every lawmaker embraces the practice. “There are three political shows lawmakers should never stage: resigning from office, shaving their heads and going on a hunger strike. No lawmaker ever truly resigns, their hair grows back and they never starve to death,” DP Rep. Park Jie-won said at the time of Rep. Lee’s and Rep. Park In-sook’s decision.

Rep. Lee shot back in a YTN interview that such criticism was hypocritical, given that many lawmakers had engaged in similar protests themselves, and that “their efforts should not be belittled.”

Head-shaving ceremonies are also often conducted by farmers, who rally against citywide plans to build industrial development projects or cuts to provincial agricultural budgets.

But why do protesters shave their heads in public demonstrations — and does the gesture still work?

Officials demonstrate how to tie a "sangtu," a traditional Korean topknot hairstyle for men, as part of a coming-of-age ceremony at a traditional culture festival at Gwanghwamun in central Seoul on May 5, 2019. [JOONGANG ILBO]

What are the origins of head-shaving?

Ironically, Korea was once a dynasty overprotective of hair.

During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), when Confucianism was prevalent, cutting or even shaving hair was considered unfilial and was conventionally forbidden.

“Our bodies, from every hair to bit of skin, are given to us by our parents, and we must not [...] wound them,” Chinese philosopher Kong Qiu (c. 551-479 B.C.) taught in his “Classic of Filial Piety” treatise.

Married men in the Joseon era were also usually required to tie their long hair in sangtu, or topknots, and cutting them off was likened to castration, stripping them of their masculinity.

In 1895, when a royal order — under the influence of the Japanese government — was imposed on all Joseon men, forcing them to have shorter, “Westerner-like” hair, scholar Choe Ik-hyeon (1834-1907) famously replied, “You may cut off my head, but you cannot cut off my hair.”

A child novice monk, left, touches a monk’s head during a ceremony at Jogye Temple in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 22, 2019. [JOONGANG ILBO]

A 1875 portrait of a Japanese samurai with a "chonmage," a type of traditional topknot haircut in which only the top of the head was shaved [GETTY IMAGES PRO]

Then why did head-shaving ceremonies appear in Korea, especially in politics?

The 1895 mandate foreshadowed what was to come under Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, when Korea was heavily pressured to adopt Japanese practices. The resulting imperialistic hair culture became embedded in Korea.

During Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868), samurai were required to don what is called chonmage, a type of traditional topknot haircut in which only the top of the head is shaved. The style not only symbolized the samurai’s status but also their dedication and loyalty to their rulers.

“Before the Japanese colonial period, there was no tradition in Korea in which people, other than Buddhist monks, shaved their heads as a gesture of political resolve or protest,” historian Chun Woo-yong wrote in a Facebook post in 2019, explaining that the practice is a “colonial remnant” of Japanese imperialism.

Across Asia, Buddhist monks commonly shave their heads, a practice known as tonsure. It is a symbol of renouncing worldly attachments, such as ego and vanity, and embracing a lifestyle focusing on spiritual discipline.

Lawmaker Park Chan-jong shaves his head in 1987 in what is considered Korea’s first reported political head-shaving ceremony, calling for a unified presidential candidacy between Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung ahead of the country’s first direct presidential election. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

The first reported instance of a political head-shaving ceremony in Korea was in 1987, when lawmaker Park Chan-jong called for a unified presidential candidacy between Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung ahead of the country’s first direct election, which was accomplished through the June Democratic Struggle. The June movement led to the death of a military dictatorship and the birth of a democracy.

Despite Park Chan-jong sacrificing his hair, however, the unification effort fell through, and Roh Tae-woo was elected president.

Still, head-shaving is a “visually shocking” way of making a desperate appeal to the public, according to Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.

“It usually serves as a last resort, when the issue in question cannot be resolved through conversation and is deemed difficult to win public support,” Prof. Shin told the Korea JoongAng Daily, noting that it tends to be adopted by minority groups nowadays.

“The majority rule itself is not the core value of democracy, but merely one of several means of realizing democratic values,” he continued. “But in a society in which decisions end up being made simply based on a number count, some people have no choice but to turn to shaving their heads.”

Lee Jae Myung, then-leader of the Democratic Party, talks to other lawmakers from his bed at a hospital in Jungnang District, eastern Seoul, on Sept. 23, 2023, the 23rd day of Lee's hunger strike. [DEMOCRATIC PARTY]

How did Koreans protest before that?

Before head-shaving became popular, independence activist An Jung-geun (1879-1910) famously severed the top joint of his left ring finger in 1909 as a blood oath to kill Hirobumi Ito, Japan’s first prime minister and the resident-general of Korea.

During the Chun Doo Hwan administration from 1980 to 1988, during which he ruled Korea as a military dictator after a successful coup in December 1979, multiple pro-democracy activists, including students, died by self-immolation.

On March 6, 1987, a young man set himself on fire near the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts building in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, while shouting, “Stop the plot for long-term rule,” and “Take responsibility for the Gwangju uprising,” referring to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980, which resulted in over 160 deaths and 2,600 injuries.

He died two days later after the police pressured his family to remove him from life support at the hospital.

Alongside head-shaving, hunger strikes are a fairly common form of protest in Korea. President Lee Jae Myung, back when he was the DP leader in 2023, carried out an “indefinite” hunger strike to protest the Yoon administration. The strike, which lasted 24 days, ended after Lee was hospitalized.

Additionally, self-immolation cases are rare now but still happen occasionally. On April 27, a man attempted to light himself ablaze to appeal for help to resolve a personal grievance with an acquaintance, but he was stopped and restrained by police.

Police restrain Jang Il, a former People Power Party official, after he poured gasoline on himself and attempted self-immolation in protest of failing to receive a nomination in Yeouido, western Seoul, on March 3, 2024. [NEWS1]

Is head-shaving still considered an effective form of public demonstration?

Not necessarily. Today, the practice fails to receive as much attention from the public as it used to, mainly because it is now considered unoriginal.

Kim Hyung-joon, a political scientist and chair professor at Pai Chai University, said that in the past, head-shaving invoked dominant public sentiment: democratization.

“[Head-shaving] once resonated with the spirit of the times, but today it is often seen as serving partisan or personal interests,” Prof. Kim said. “And because this type of protest has become so common, it no longer carries the same impact as it once did. It’s become such an old-fashioned method.”

He added that Korean politics has long been shaped by formalism and emotional appeals, which helped make head-shaving a symbolic gesture for politicians seeking public sympathy.

Prof. Shin also noted that most democratic Western nations have a “culture of compromise,” meaning that people can assert their voices without engaging in such extreme acts.

Minami Minegishi, now a former member of the Japanese girl group AKB48, shaved her head in 2013 and apologized to fans in a YouTube video after she was photographed with her then-boyfriend by tabloids, despite a strict no-dating rule. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Even so, hair-shaving sometimes still strikes a chord with the public.

Minami Minegishi, a former member of the Japanese girl group AKB48, shaved her head in 2013 and apologized to fans in a YouTube video after she was photographed with her then-boyfriend by tabloids, despite her agency’s strict no-dating rule.

“I don’t believe that [shaving my head] means that I can be forgiven for what I did, but the first thing that I thought was that I don’t want to quit AKB48,” she said in the video, sobbing. Her contrition proved successful; she was reinstated into the group and continued activities well into 2021.

On JTBC's ″Divorce Re-Boot Camp″ (2024–), a Korean television reality show that mediates between couples contemplating divorce, one husband struggling with a gambling addiction shaved his head as a sign of repentance and promised to quit for good. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

For others, it’s saved their marriage. On JTBC’s “Divorce Re-Boot Camp” (2024–), a Korean television reality show that mediates between couples contemplating divorce, one husband struggling with a gambling addiction shaved his head as a sign of repentance and promised to quit for good.

“In all my years of broadcasting, never did I think I’d live to see someone shaving their head on air,” host Seo Jang-hoon said, as the couple ultimately chose to stay together.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]