Why South Korea is watching Erling Haaland’s hair ties
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Haaland’s trademark hairstyle has become one of the tournament’s talking points.
PHOTO: AFP
SEOUL – To football fans, Erling Haaland is Norway’s prolific striker. In China, AI-generated memes and parody videos have turned him into an internet celebrity. In crypto circles, his World Cup popularity has even inspired a meme token.
In South Korea, however, the conversation has taken a different turn: the hair tie securing his signature man bun.
During the ongoing World Cup, Haaland’s trademark hairstyle has become one of the tournament’s unlikely talking points. Fans have marvelled at how it remains perfectly in place through 90 minutes of sprinting, aerial duels and celebrations.
In South Korea, curiosity has shifted beyond the hairstyle itself to the name of the brand behind it: Kknekki.
The brand name sparked an immediate sense of familiarity among some Korean users, many of whom pointed out its resemblance to kkeunaekki, a dialect word for “string” or “cord” in the Gyeongsang provinces.
As the discovery spread online, Korean users and media outlets began pointing out the brand’s little-known connection to Korea.
Founded in South Korea in 1987, Kknekki began as a locally developed hair tie brand with modest roots before being acquired by Norwegian accessories brand Bon Dep in 2015.
The product was created by Korean manufacturer Dooji in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, using a distinctive weaving technique designed to make the ties both durable and gentle on the hair.
As many online users guessed, the brand name itself derives from kkeunaekki, a nod to the region where it began.
For some Koreans, the brand’s backstory was not just trivia. It was memory.
“About 20 years ago, when I had long hair, I used to try a lot of hair ties, and there was one that was exceptionally good quality,” one user wrote, recalling how coming across a Kknekki hair tie had left a lasting impression.
The user went on to recall spotting a Kknekki sign while passing through Seoul’s Bangsan Market and telling her mother that the company made “the best hair elastics”. Her mother, who was from the Gyeongsang region, explained that kkeunaekki meant “string”.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, interesting’, and then forgot all about it,” the user wrote. “But today, just as I was thinking I missed Kknekki because I couldn’t find any hair ties I liked, the Haaland-Kknekki story suddenly popped up on my algorithm. How random is that?”
The comment ended with what may be the most fitting reaction to the whole saga: “Knekki quality with Norwegian design? I really want to buy it now.”
Haaland’s affinity for the brand is no secret. Photos of him colour-coordinating his hair ties with his outfits and posing with an almost comical number of the Kknekki hair ties have spread widely online.
Erling Haaland is known to colour-coordinate his hair ties with his outfits.
PHOTO: REUTERS
He isn’t just a loyal customer. After years of using the product, he acquired shares in Bon Dep in 2024, becoming a minority shareholder.
Ahead of the World Cup, Kknekki released a limited “Haaland Edition” collection inspired by the colours he wears on the pitch. The collection sold out at launch, and the collaboration gave the brand a significant boost.
Bon Dep said Kknekki gained more than 10,000 new social media followers, while overall website traffic rose by 70 per cent. Visits from Norwegian customers – despite the brand historically generating most of its sales overseas – surged by 319 per cent following the campaign.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, interest in the word “kkeunekki” has spiked over the past week, according to Google search trends. Related searches on South Korea’s primary search engine, Naver, included search terms like “kkeunaekki Haaland”, “kkeunaekki hair tie” and “kkeunaekki brand”.
For many Korean users, the discovery turned into a mix of curiosity and regional pride.
“Of course, it’s from Hamyang! So proud,” one commenter wrote. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
