Hair Curlers in Public? That’s Just How They Roll.
The New York Times
The young South Korean women who wear them say they are not only functional, but also a sign of shifting ideas about beauty and a reflection of the country’s generational divide.
SEOUL — In a subway car on a recent fall afternoon, seven young South Korean women stood quietly among a crowd of commuters. They wore seasonal jackets and wind breakers just like other passengers, but one accessory made them stand out: old-fashioned hair curlers locked tightly into their bangs.
These plastic cylinders, usually Velcro-covered, can be seen nearly everywhere around Seoul — in cafes and restaurants, on public transportation, on the street.
And while they may seem like a vestige of a previous era, the young women who wear them say they are not only functional but also a sign of shifting ideas about gender and beauty and a reflection of the country’s generational divide.