Remember when you decided to chop your hair off so you could rock a short angular bob a la Victoria Beckham, but then ending up looking more like Kate Gosselin? Oh wait, that was just me.

We’ve all had our hair phases and hair disasters, but if you’re a woman living in North Korea, the whole Beckham-Gosselin debacle would be unlikely to happen. Why, you ask? Well, there are only 18 haircuts that North Korean women are allowed to sport.

Warning: one of them looks like a permed mullet (#13).

Government officials have distributed photo cards to let North Korean women know that getting your hair did comes with its own set of hair don’ts. The poo-pooing of “foreign hairstyles” can be traced back to 2005 when one show hosted an episode called “Let’s trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle.”

Imagine being restricted in this way. It would totally blow.

We know that hairstyle choices aren’t the only freedoms lacking under the North Korean regime, but jeez—let a woman choose her own haircut.

Look at the 18 pre-approved haircuts and tell me you’re not thinking the same thing: permed mullets should make a comeback.