The Reason Hair Is Discarded by Some and Treasured by Others

Recently, an article I happened to click on in the news stayed in my mind for a long time.

It was the story of Elvis Presley’s hair being auctioned for $17,000, or about 20 million won.

The hair, cut by Elvis’s personal barber, had been quietly collected by someone and stored in a bottle, and over time that bottle eventually appeared at an auction house. A bottle of hair came to carry such a high value.

At first, I wondered, “Could that really be true?” But at the same time, I also thought, “Well, maybe it could be.”

Surprisingly, similar things happen fairly often in the entertainment world.

Source - TV Report

DNA Necklace

In the late 1990s, SM Entertainment once released a piece of merchandise called the “DNA Necklace” using blood and hair samples from H.O.T members.

At the time, fans saw it not as a simple souvenir, but almost as a “relic.”

It was a symbolic medium connecting fans and stars.

A similar attempt was made in the 2010s as well, but it fell through because of ethical controversy and reactions mixed with discomfort.

Source - Insight

Three Strands of IVE’s Jang Wonyoung’s Hair

More recently, a listing on a Chinese online shopping mall for three strands of IVE’s Jang Wonyoung’s hair drew attention after being registered for sale at about 17 million won.

It was accompanied by an explanation that it had been obtained at a concert, but its authenticity was never confirmed. Even so, someone assigned “value” to that hair.

Fans who take home the water a star drank, fans who treasure a sweat-soaked towel,

and even scenes like in the NBA, where jerseys or sneakers are given to fans after a game...

The feeling of being connected to a star through some kind of “physical object” seems to transcend generations.

Perhaps that is the very essence of fandom.

It may not be easy for everyone to understand, but inside their own world, it is an entirely natural thing.

I often encounter scenes like that in the clinic as well.

When I see a strand of a patient’s hair on the floor,

somehow it feels as if the day’s atmosphere and emotions are wrapped up in it too.

The trace of having rushed to dry it in the morning, the trace of hair slipping away under stress, and even the sadness caused by hair loss.

Hair falls out easily, but it is not easily erased from memory.

A single strand left in an old bookmark, someone’s hair tangled in a towel in the washing machine... In that way, hair often lingers and touches people’s hearts for a long time.

Some people trim it off and brush it away without a second thought, while others hold the cut hair in their hands and stare at it for a long time.

Some people pray every day, earnestly hoping that their hair will no longer fall out.

On the other hand, some people want to keep someone else’s hair.

In that way, hair is hope to some, and to others it is a memory and a symbol of possession.

It is the same hair, but everyone’s feelings toward it are different.

As the desire to protect and the desire to possess intersect, hair seems to remain not just a simple part of the body, but a piece of life itself.