Kim Jong Who? Koreans Obsess Over Posh's Bob

South Koreans might be facing the imminent threat of nuclear annihilation at the hands of a madman dictator, but what's really causing turmoil in the Land of the Morning Calm? Posh Spice's bob haircut.


When the ubiquitous Mrs. Beckham chopped off her long dark locks back in August, she caused ripples amongst the Western style cognoscenti. But ever since South Korean starlets started emulating Beckham (who, along with her husband David, is huge in soccer-mad Korea) in recent weeks, debate has raged in the past several days within the country about the wisdom of going under the chop.

The reigning pop goddess of Korea (and, really, all of Asia), Hyo Ri Lee (above, left), cut her hair in the summer and sources from Seoul tell TMZ say that her new look affected her product endorsement contracts, whereas popular actress Hye Soo Kim's (above top right) hair rethink was widely applauded. Still, as the widely-read Chosun Ilbo newspaper pointed out, in South Korea's incredibly super-scrutinized celeb culture, "one centimeter can make a world of difference." Indeed, fans have been known to bellow in collective outrage over a miniscule change in eyebrow shape or even the slightest hint of Botox.

It's good to know that our brethren in South Korean celebdom are keeping their priorities straight amidst the nuclear maelstrom.



Reader Comments

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1. I guess in North Korea there's no accounting for taste, blech.

Posted at 6:40PM on Oct 12th 2006 by Yuk

2. And we are supposed to care about this because????

Posted at 6:58PM on Oct 12th 2006 by Ebony

3. There is nothing attractive about Posh. What is the big deal here ? Her face is hidious and now with that hair doo she looks ridiculous. It looks like she scooped up a piece of dirty road kill and positioned it around her head.to look like some kind of hair style.

She is a skinny, talentless, materalistic woman who seems to have no substance. Starving herself for a man who can't even be faithful. What is glamourous about that ? What a marshmellow. SHe needs to get a life.

Posted at 7:10PM on Oct 12th 2006 by the wise old owl

4. first of all, its south korea that the story's talking about, not north korea u idiot. south korea is a democractic, capitalist country and north korea is the crazy communist regime. and nuclear war isn't going to happen because kim jong il doesn't want it do since he'll die

did everyone forget the fact that america is at war and here we are obsessing over celebrity gossip?

hyo ri is as much of a talentless, materialistic whore as posh

Posted at 8:13PM on Oct 12th 2006 by asdf

5. that hair style has been around for AGES...it's not like it was created for her or that she is responsible for its popularity. give us break, tmz...why do you write such absurd statements?

Posted at 12:14AM on Oct 13th 2006 by lisa

6. South Korea has always been this superficial about their celebrities appearances. I think they are a lot more superficial than the American celebrities I read about on this Web site. Freaking a, watch one of their mant "TRL"-type spinoff shows and you'll see that every one of those girls are just skinny spaghetti noodles wrapped up in cheap plastic and botox.
Even more sad is that the women celebrities' hair usually are not as "fabulous" as the men celebrities' hair. It's GROSS.

Posted at 2:23AM on Oct 13th 2006 by Tony

7. In short, that is like saying Jews in Hollywood who are connected to Israel should be supporting entirely with the cause in the Middle East and forget about the "business" in Hollywood. Furthermore, although I agree that there are priorities, You, are making it sound like the entire Korean people are focused on Posh...life continues on even in the "entertainment" industry ... next you want to make such a statement ... do it showing your badge from the Peace Corp and not TMZ.

Posted at 1:51AM on Nov 20th 2006 by WILLIAM KWON

8. WOW NUMBER 1,2,3,4,5,6. AMERICA IS JUST LIKE THAT. ALL AMERICA THINKS ABOUT IS FASHION. STOP STOP ALL THE F*CKIN HATING. KOREA ROCKS WITH FASHION. YOU RACIST BITCHES DO KNOW THAT ASIA DOES MAKE ABOUT 78 PERCENT OF FASHION THESE DAYS? TOKYO? EVER HEARD OF THAT? GET A LIFE YOU FREAKIN RACISTS.

Posted at 3:17PM on Oct 13th 2006 by Anna

9. She's a has been. Although to be a has-been, you should have been somebody. That crap girl group doesnt make it.
Sad "old" hag

Posted at 11:37AM on Oct 16th 2006 by nick