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The Korean word for chonggak radish (총각무) has roots in traditional hairstyles. It combines chonggak (총각), meaning ‘bachelor,’ and mu (무), meaning ‘radish.’
In the past, unmarried men in Korea wore their hair in a long braid. When they came of age, during their coming-of-age ceremony, their braid was styled into chonggak, horn-shaped double topknots. Since the slender, pointy radish looked like the chonggak hairstyle, it was nicknamed the ‘bachelor radish‘.
