With the increase in high-quality hairdressers, Korea's old-school barbershops, or "yibalso" in Korean, became far less prevalent in the nineteen eighties. However, more traditional men's haircutting and beard-trimming services are finding new popularity here in the form of trendy but retro barbershops.
A preliminary round for this event called World Barber Classic Korea takes place in Seoul every year. This year's competition was held at Seocho District in Seoul where hundreds of people either working as professional barbers or those interested in barber culture flocked to watch the event last Tuesday.
The winner of this tournament gets an opportunity to participate in the final round of House of Seven and compete for Asia's champion title. The final round is set to be held next year in Japan.
Interviewed / edited by Choi Jin-woo
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