HAIRSTYLES ARE thought to be one of the most important external factors that decide not only how one’s appearance is viewed but also the overall mood and impression that a person conveys. As a result, many people, regardless of their age and gender, put considerable amount of efforts into finding a hairstyle that suits them.  This is true for university students, who are especially concerned about hairstyles that look good and draw the attention of the opposite sex. In this month’s Voice on Campus, The Yonsei Annals looked into the various hairstyles that Yonseians think are regarded as ideal by the opposite gender.  If you are planning to change your hairstyle for the new semester, why not take into consideration what fellow Yonseians said?

1. Park Sung-hyun (Soph, Dept. of Materials Science & Engin.)

Like most guys, I used to like long straight hairstyles when I was younger. I think I liked the pure and innocent looking image of long straight hairstyles. But now my preference has changed to a “C-curled bob cut*”. I like the so-called Ko Jun-hee bob cut to be specific. Normally I do not watch TV, so I did not even know that an actress by the name of Ko Jun-hee existed. However, one day I went to see the movie Marriage Blue with my friends and the actual actors came to promote their movie.  That was the first time I saw Ko Jun-hee and I found her bobbed hairstyle extremely charming. Throughout the movie, I could not concentrate on the plot but solely looked at Ko Jun-hee.  The C-curled bob cut seems to have a ravishing attractiveness, as it can present both a cute and sexy image. I hope that more celebrities try the C curled bob cut style so that it is in vogue.

2. Hong Jin-ho (Fresh., Dept. of Dentistry)

My favorite hairstyle is “ponytails”. The majority of women usually have long hair with bangs, but I think ponytails look much better and neater as they expose the ears and the neckline. I have a special episode that explains why I prefer ponytails among other hairstyles. In my third year of middle school, a song named “Nobody” by Wondergirls** was a great hit. One day, my classmate told me that she was going to dance along to the song “Nobody” at the school festival.  On the day of the festival she tied her hair back in a ponytail for the first time, just like the members of Wondergirls. With her white skin and beautiful neckline, she looked fabulous. Since then, I got to like ponytail styles the best. In general, a woman in a ponytail gives an impression that she is active and cheerful, making others feel that it is easy to be friends with her.

3. Oh Eun-taek (Soph., Dept. of Public Admin.)

Among various hairstyles, I like the one without front bangs the most. Actually, I did not know that I preferred a particular hairstyle. Whenever I saw a different drama, my favorite actress seemed to change. I found this very interesting. So I looked for common points among my favorite actresses and found out that they all had the same hairstyle: “goddess hairstyle,” a style with long straight hair without bangs. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that I like every woman in that particular hairstyle. I think that the best hairstyle should go well with one’s personality as well as one’s fashion style.

4. Jeon Da-seul (Soph., Dept. of English Language & Lit.)

When I was going through puberty, my preference for men’s hair depended solely on how well the individual suited the trendiest style of that time. As we all know, adolescents are very sensitive to everything around them. I too thought that what everybody else did was the best. Now that a few years have passed, I have no idea why I liked such common and tacky hairstyles. Now my favorite hairstyle is called the “dandy cut***” in Korea. I used to think that the dandy cut was too plain, which was the biggest reason it got excluded from my list of favorites when I was an adolescent. However, as I met lots of new people at university, I realized that the dandy cut gives a variety of impressions depending on different ways of styling. Such styles can easily give a man both a casual and a formal ambiance. The Dandy cut also keeps the neat image that determines an impression of a person. Lastly, the dandy cut goes very well with hats, enabling this simple hairstyle to look fabulous and adaptable.

5. Yoon Seo-yoon (Jr., UIC, Dept. of Asian Studies)

I think most guys look best in short haircuts with bangs covering their forehead. It’s called the “dandy cut with two-block style****”. Personally, I like this hairstyle on guys because I think it makes them look clean and approachable. Furthermore, I prefer this style particularly because it reminds me of a tutor in middle school with this kind of hairstyle. He was not only good-looking but also very smart and gentle. Therefore, I tend to associate this hairstyle with the traits I mentioned above. Even now, when I see someone with a hairstyle similar to my tutor, I can’t help but look twice.

6. Baik Ha-young (Jr., Dept. of Biochem.)

I had a cousin who cared so much about his hairstyle that he would wake up early in the morning, not to eat breakfast, but to style up his long wavy hair for school. It was somewhat understandable that he wanted to be stylish and fashionable as a college freshman, but it seemed unreasonable to use up almost half a bottle of hairspray every morning! I would not have said anything if that stiff-sprayed wavy hair looked good, but unfortunately it didn’t. After a few months, as if my cousin himself felt ugly, he cut his hair short into a neat style without bangs. All of a sudden he looked so much more attractive even without much styling. Seeing the drastic change myself, I think that guys in general look really good in short neat hairstyles that show the forehead. It makes a person look more active and decent. Now with this kind of hairstyle, my cousin does not have to waste time fixing his hair and use up so much hair wax or hairspray!

 

*C-curled bob cut: A short haircut for women in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-level with the ends of the hair being C-shaped.

**Wondergirls: A South Korean singing group consisting of five girls.

***Dandy cut: Very popular Korean style that features thin sides and back along with thick fringes, covering the forehead.