Thailand school slammed for banning K-pop hairstyles for girls

Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A school in eastern Thailand is taking heat after online activists drew attention to the school's alleged action against students sporting K-pop inspired haircuts.

The group, Education for Liberation of Siam, claimed girls at the school who wore bangs cut in the style of K-pop celebrities, were forced to confess to bad behavior and to pledge to fix their hairstyles, Thai news service Khao Sod reported Thursday.

Sunreng Srisitthichaisakul, director of Siyanusorn School, defended the ban.

"This rule has been enforced for many years already," Sunreng said. "However, there's a trend among teenage girls who want to style their hair after a popular K-pop star, so we passed out agreements to prevent students from violating school rules."

Education for Liberation said the regulation was "excessive" and that the school required parents to sign papers pledging to not repeat the "offense."

The group also claimed the failure of students and parents to sign papers after three summons would be reason for expulsion.

People in Thailand took to social media to express their opposition to the ban.

"This is [B.S.] They should spend time teaching the students rather than picking on them," one commenter wrote, according to Khao Sod. "This is a violation of their rights."

Sunreng said the expulsion claims are false.

"There must have been some misunderstanding. We never expel students because of bangs," he said. "The penalty for this would be deduction of merit points."

Korean music and entertainment is a huge influence in Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post.

Thailand is the homeland of some major K-pop celebrities, including Thai-born Nichkhun of boy band 2PM, Bam Bam of GOT7 and Lisa of girl group Blackpink, according to the report.