Some say Charlie Chaplin started it. Dali made it famous and basically everyone from Tom Selleck to Johnny Depp and Justin Bieber copied it. (Well, Bieber at least tried.) You might think that mustaches are mostly a Western concept, but look at pictures of King Sejong, and the inventor of Hangul was apparently in on the trend, too. While not as common in Korea until recently, mustaches are making their way onto the faces of many of the nation’s most attractive men. Just flip through any popular men’s magazine or search for the hashtag #수염스타그램 (Korean for #mustacheagram), and you’ll get the gist of what we’re saying. Despite the rumors that state: “Korean men can’t grow beards,” we gotta say hey, Cha Seung-won, Kim Nam-gil, Jang Dong-gun, Jung Woo-sung and So Ji-sub all did it and looked damn fine doing it, too. (And if you can’t grow one, there’s no need to feel shame—bodies are just different!) Love it or hate it, this month, it does carry meaning. Stemming from a combination of the Australian-English word “moustache” and “November,” Movember is a campaign that encourages men (and women) to grow mustaches in order to raise awareness for men’s health issues such as depression, prostate cancer, testicular cancer and more. Check out the homepage movember.com whose motto is to “change the face of men’s health” and find a second meaning behind growing out that stylish mustache. Don’t forget to take a selfie, comment #수염스타그램, #Movember and tag us (@timeoutseoul) while you’re at it.
