South Korea is the only developed nation where tattoo artists’ work is illegal. Photo: VICE
Tattoos
Inside the Underground Subculture of Female Korean Tattoo Artists
Tim Chan
SEOUL —South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld a ban on tattooing on Thursday, in a decision that frustrated many of the country’s tattoo artists and ink lovers.For years, tattooists have sought to challenge a law allowing only medical professionals to perform the procedure, saying it effectively turns them into criminals.
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But the court ruled in a 5-4 vote that the legislation was constitutional, confirming South Korea as the only developed nation where tattoo artists’ work is illegal. The verdict said tattoo artists lack the medical qualifications to properly treat their customers before and after the procedure.A union of some 650 tattooists has condemned the ruling.“It’s almost a joke, farcical enough to make people laugh,” said union head and tattoo artist Kim Do-yoon, better known as Doy, who has inked K-pop stars and Hollywood celebrities including Brad Pitt and Lily Collins.“It’s a way more pathetic sentencing than we expected it would be,” Kim told VICE World News. “They’ve convinced no one that tattooing is a medical activity. Nobody thinks that way.”
The works of Doy, a renowned Korean tattoo artist. Photo: Courtesy of Doy
At least six artists have been sentenced to prison, usually for two years, since April last year, according to a survey carried out by the union. Kim was himself handed a $4,100 fine in December after a YouTube video of him tattooing a Korean actor went viral. He has vowed to fight the penalty.
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South Korean ink lovers say the country’s law on tattooing fails to catch up with the growing demand and popularity of the art, especially among young people. A Gallup Korea poll last year suggested that four in five South Koreans in their 20s supported lifting tattooing restrictions. Overall, 51 percent of respondents backed the trade, while 40 percent were against it.
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“The law doesn’t reflect reality. The number of people who get tattooed is growing quickly. People want to get tattooed by tattooists, not by doctors,” Lim Bo-lan, director of the Korea Tattoo Federation, told VICE World News. She said she would organize a demonstration next month to call for the total legalization of tattooing.Tattooing by non-medical practitioners has been illegal in South Korea since a 1992 Supreme Court decision defining tattooing as a medical service. In 2016, the nine-judge panel of the Constitutional Court upheld the ban in a 7-2 vote.
The country’s medical associations have long argued that only qualified medical professionals should carry out the procedure because it could be dangerous.In upholding the law, the Constitutional Court said tattooing could cause infections and other complications, but Lim argued that safety could be improved by training.There’s also taboo associated with tattoos in the country, as ink was historically used to permanently mark criminals and slaves. It later acquired a criminal connotation as gangsters openly adorned themselves with tattoos to show off their gang affiliation.
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To this day, performers are required to cover up their tattoos when appearing on television. For example, BTS member Jungkook wears long sleeves and a bandage to cover up his body art on TV.The ban on non-medical tattooists has created a thriving underground industry. At least 1 million South Koreans have tattoos, according to the Korea Tattoo Association.
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Lim said that even some medical clinics secretly hired tattooists to carry out the procedure for them.“Doctors can’t do art and don’t want to do it either,” she said.
News
Japanese Boxer Faces Penalty for Baring Tattoos in the Ring
Hanako Montgomery
While having tattoos has been similarly stigmatized in the rest of East Asia, Japan’s top court ruled in 2020 that tattoo artists in the country no longer needed a medical license to run their business. However, the public display of body art in the country remains controversial because of tattoos being associated with yakuza—Japanese gangsters.FollowJunhyup KwononTwitter.
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The tattoo ban was put in place in 1992 and came from fears that decorative body art was associated with criminal and gang activity. When the ban was upheld in 2022, the court argued that it was because only someone with a medical license could make sure that tattoos are done safely and with minimal potential harm.
In upholding the law, the Constitutional Court said tattooing could cause infections and other complications, but Lim argued that safety could be improved by training. There's also taboo associated with tattoos in the country, as ink was historically used to permanently mark criminals and slaves.
Tattooing in South Korea is not 100 percent illegal, nor is it illegal to have a tattoo. While certain establishments and institutions reserve the right to make patrons cover tattoos, there are no legal penalties for sporting tattoos in public.
Background. In Korea, you are only legally allowed to be a tattoo artist if you are a trained medical doctor. How many people do you think put in all of the hard work to become a licensed doctor, to then become a tattoo artist? Not many.
Most Asian countries have strong social disapproval for tats and certain types of piercings, including Korea; with most Koreans frowning upon those with elaborate body-art. Stigma about these markings significantly affects careers, reputations, and even love lives in Asian countries.
Moving into the 20th century, tattoos in Korea became customary for gangs and thus created an association of the two. This was an imitation of Japanese gang culture during Japan's colonial rule of Korea (1910-1945). This further contributed to the distaste for tattoos already present in the Confucian culture of Korea.
While tattoos are not illegal, they can prevent people from getting the full Japanese experience. When using public transportation in Japan, such as trains, tourists with visible tattoos will want to keep in mind that their ink may be offensive to some of the locals.
Today, 10% of respondents have tattoos themselves. A 2021 Gallup poll found that 81% of Koreans in their 20s, and 60% of Koreans in their 30s and 40s are in favor of lifting tattoo restrictions.
Chinese law has no mandatory norms for adult tattooing, as long as the individual has reached the age of 18 and has full capacity for civil conduct. The law does not place any restrictions on tattoos; it is completely determined by the individual according to circ*mstances and voluntary choice.
Studios usually have a base price they will charge you for their time, no matter how small the tattoo. Expect anywhere from 20,000 krw for smallest tattoos to upwards of 1,000,000 krw for large scale pieces. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Hence, tattoos ended up having a bad reputation in Korea. This is also why celebrities' tattoos are often blurred on television, as they can cause repulsion among viewers." She further added that it eventually became a stigma "...as it was perceived as a marginal culture."
This likely has to do with Korea's conservative views on tattoos: they are considered illegal in South Korea, except when done by a medical professional.
At my school, I do not have to hide my tattoos. I think Korea used to be more conservative about tattoos, but in recent years it's more relaxed. But, every school is different. Note: I have visible tattoos on my arms, shoulder, and ankle area.
in korea, it's legal to have tattoos. but, since south korea is a “conservative” country, people do not like tattoos, tattoos are associated with gagsters. idols often tend to cover up their tattoos when they're on television shows.
In the past, tattoos were viewed as mutilation, or a mark of punishment or ownership. Under Japanese occupation, Korean gangs adopted the aesthetics of the yakuza, using tattoos as markers of gang identification. Older Koreans in particular find it difficult to escape these legal and cultural connotations.
Korea - Prohibited and Restricted ImportsKorea - Prohibited Imports. Includes a list of goods that are prohibited from being exported to the country or are otherwise restricted. Guns, narcotics, p*rnography, subversive material, treasonous material, and counterfeit goods are prohibited from entering Korea.
Iran. It is illegal in Islamic countries, like Iran, to get a tattoo. Under the claim that 'tattooing is a health risk' and 'forbidden by God', people who get a tattoo in Iran are at risk of being arrested, fined heavily, or even retained in prison.
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