US ambassador to South Korea defends 'offensive' mustache, says it's a break from military life

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The US ambassador to South Korea is in a hairy situation when it comes to maintaining diplomatic relations.

The aptly named envoy, Harry Harris, is getting flak for sporting a mustache — a look that some Koreans find offensive and critics say is reminiscent of oppressive governors-general when Korea was under Japanese rule between 1910 and 1945.

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Retired Adm. Harry Harris, currently the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, attends a ceremony to mark the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Harris, the highly decorated 40-year U.S. Navy veteran who was nominated by President Trump and confirmed to the post in June, defended his facial hair in an interview last week with The Korea Times.

“I wanted to make a break between my life as a military officer and my new life as a diplomat,” he told the publication in the wide-ranging interview. “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.”

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Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a father who served in the U.S. Navy, Harris further staved off criticism about his appearance.

“There are many Korean independence leaders that have mustaches, but no one seems to focus on that,” he said. “I am who I am. All I can say is that every decision I make is based on the fact that I’m American ambassador to Korea, not the Japanese American ambassador to Korea.”

Read more at the New York Post.