US ambassador to South Korea bows to pressure and shaves his mustache after anti-American locals criticized him for his 'colonial' facial hair which reminded them of the Japanese
The US ambassador to South Korea has shaved off his mustache to stay 'cool' during the hot summer, months after his facial hair drew unusual criticism from anti-American activists who likened it to those of former Japanese colonial leaders.
The US embassy on Saturday posted a video on Twitter of Harry Harris visiting a classic local barbershop in Seoul to remove his mustache, which he said together with a face mask makes him feel too hot and uncomfortable.
'I haven't seen this face in years,' Harris told the barber after the shave. 'I feel so much cooler now.'
Harris (pictured on the left on Monday and on the right in January) was born to a Japanese mother and an American father. He long resisted shaving his mustache, saying he was being criticized for his Japanese heritage
In the video, Harris is seen going to a barber shop in Seoul to have his mustache shaved off
'Glad I did this. For me it was either keep the 'stache or lose the mask. Summer in Seoul is way too hot & humid for both. #COVID guidelines matter & I'm a masked man!' he said in a separate tweet.
Early this year, his mustache became a source of criticism from some politicians and anti-US activists who compared it with those of Japanese officials during their 1910-45 colonial rule.
Some even linked it to his Japanese-American heritage, as Harris was born to a Japanese mother and an American father.
Last year, Harris, 63, said that he has been criticized due to his ethnic background.
According to the Guardian, he said: 'My mustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here.
'I have been criticized in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American.'
Harry Harris, the American ambassador to South Korea, posted a video to the official Twitter account of the embassy in Seoul
The American ambassador removed the facial hair, which was a sensitive issue for anti-American Koreans who said it reminded them of Japan's occupation of the peninsula between 1910 and 1945
During his 40-year military career Harris was clean-shaven. His facial hair and Japanese heritage angered some South Koreans after he assumed his role as ambassador in 2018
During the nearly 40 years Korea was ruled by Japan, all eight Japanese governor-generals wore mustaches.
Harris has faced more intense criticism over the issue due to his American-Japanese heritage, leading to accusations he favors Japan over Korea.
Because of this historical facial hair link, Harris has often has been ridiculed for not being an ambassador but a governor general, according to local media.
Harris was born in Yokosuka, south-west of Tokyo, to a US Navy officer and a Japanese mother.
The Korean peninsula became a Japanese protectorate in 1905 and part of the Japanese empire from 1910 until the end of the Second World War in 1945.
Before becoming ambassador, Harris was clean-shaven when he served as an admiral in the US Navy, but decided to grow a mustache to mark his career change after 40 years of military service.
Harris told Korea Times: 'I wanted to make a break between my life as a military officer and my new life as a diplomat.
'I tried to get taller but I couldn't grow any taller, and so I tried to get younger but I couldn't get younger. But I could grow a mustache so I did that.'
He went on to point out that many Korean independence leaders also had mustaches.
'There are many Korean independence leaders that have mustaches, but no-one seems to focus on that,' Harris said.
'All I can say is that every decision I make is based on the fact that I'm the American ambassador to Korea, not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea.'
In December activists joined a performance ridiculing Harris's mustache in central Seoul by vandalizing a portrait of the ambassador.
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, all of the governors-general wore mustaches. Yoshimichi Hasegawa was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and Japanese Governor-General of Korea from 1916 to 1919
Protesters angry over American demands South Korea pay more for defense destroyed portraits of him stuck on blocks of tofu outside the US embassy.
The groups had planned to behead an effigy of Harris but instead smashed up the blocks of traditional Korean food after a police warning.
The controversy came as the allies have been at odds over a raft of issues in recent years, including South Korea's desire to restart inter-Korean economic cooperation.
Relations between North and South Korea have been dogged by stalled nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, as well as by international sanctions imposed over the North's weapons programs.
Harris, who took office in July 2018, has been accused of having a 'disrespectful and even coercive' approach to the country by anti-American protesters.
Harris has urged Seoul to seek US consultations before pursuing any initiatives with the North to avoid any 'misunderstandings' that could trigger sanctions.
The envoy has said privately he does not plan to stay on beyond the November US presidential election, regardless of whether President Donald Trump wins another term.
INTERESTING PERCEPTIONS OVER A MUSTACHE But I now feel odd about Alan Hale having supposedly always worn a BLACK Yacht cap on GILLIGAN's Island since the MANDELA EFFECT changed it from WHITE like Mr. Howell's on the show to BLACK. I can now see him acting as a NAZI GERMAN commander wearing the black hat. NEVER had those ideas growing up with him having the white one. If you havent done it yet goto YouTube and watch a few videos on the MANDELA EFFECT. Then ask yourself HOW this is happening, why and WHOM might be doing it.
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