Hair stylists recommend hairstyles for Pres. Park

President Park Geun-hye`s style of having her hair up in a chignon has become her trademark. The beauty industry calls it an "up style." She has maintained the hairstyle for nearly 40 years since 1974, when she played the role of the First Lady soon after her mother`s assassination. Now, the hairstyle is called the "Park Geun-hye style."

She once attempted to change her hairstyle. Before the Grand National Party`s (currently renamed the Saenuri Party) primary for the presidential election in 2007, she raised many eyebrows by wearing a short wavy hairstyle. As soon as the primary was over, however, she returned to the usual up style. In 1988, a women`s magazine which interviewed Park reported that she once attempted to have a change in her life by changing her hairstyle into a short cut but returned to the "old style" soon at the urging of people around her. The magazine quoted her as saying, "I can`t even do whatever I want with my hairstyle."

According to the political circles, President Park has had her own hair designer since 20 year ago. Although there was some media reports that the hair designed had retired, it is said that she is still taking care of Park`s hair. However, it is said that the president does her own hair during overseas trips because the hair designer does not accompany her.

Why does the president sticks to the classic hairstyle, which ordinary women wear on special occasions? Some say that the president does not like to show her hair disheveled in public. Some think that she chose the up style to complement her relatively thin but curly hair.

Kim Cheong-gyeong, the hair dresser and makeup artist for former President Lee Myung-bak and his wife, Kim Yoon-ok, commented that Park adheres to the up style because "it stirs up people`s nostalgia for her late mother, former First Lady Yuk Young-soo, and is an expression‍ of her class and status that are different from others."

The up style with side hair fixed solidly strengthens her calm and elegant image. However, it is true that the hairstyle that has not changed for decades gives the impression that she is stubborn. If the president ever decides to try a new hairstyle, what would be recommendable? The Dong-A Ilbo asked professional hair dressers to propose new styles.

Kim advised that the president retains the up style but give some refined changes to her front hair. In a similar style, Hollywood actress Meryl Streep has her front hair grown to around the eyebrows and drawn back to the side of an ear. In Korea, actress Kim Mi-sook has such a style. Instead of President Park`s current style, which lets her short front hair cover the forehead, the recommended style calls on her to grow her front hair and let is wave naturally, revealing more of the forehead.

Lee Kyung-min, who runs the Lee Kyung-min Foret beauty salon, also recommended that the president let her front hair grow a little more and reveal the forehead naturally.

배우 심은하 씨의 헤어스타일을 오랫동안 담당해온 재클린미용실의 재클린 원장은 박 대통령에게 밝은색 계열로 염색할 것을 제안했다. 재클린 원장은 “검은색 머리보다 붉은색이 가미된 갈색이나 어두운 체리핑크색으로 염색하면 한층 부드럽고 세련되게 보일 것”이라고 말했다.

Hair stylist Jacqueline, who has taken care of actress Sim Eun-ha`s hairstyle for a long time, suggested that the president has her hair dyed in a light color. "If dyed in brown with a hint of red or in dark cherry pink would make her look softer and more refined," the hair stylist said.

Many other stylists viewed that a wavy bobbed hairstyle, which is favored by many middle-aged actresses, would look good on the president. If the tidy up style goes well with a formal dress, a bob style is a good match for a variety of occasions and fashion styles. However, such a style is less likely to be adopted because it is a drastic change from the current one. Just as Park once said, she has so many eyes looking at her that she cannot do whatever she wants with her hairstyle.