Seoul Ink'd Up

Getting a tattoo is something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time. However, getting a tattoo is a something that you want to make sure that you are happy with and know for sure what exactly you want to have done. I knew once I was going to Korea that I wanted to get a tattoo done there. It was a process that took a lot of research on what studio, which artist, and what should I get done. It was absolutely worth getting the tattoo and I have not one regret about my tattoo.

The Process: Background Information

Getting a tattoo in Korea is not AT ALL like getting a tattoo done in the U.S. Getting a tattoo done in Korea leaves you with a lot of trust in the hands of the artist you are going to. This is mainly because even though there are hundreds of tattoo artists and studios in Korea and on Instagram....tattoos in Korea are very "illegal". They are illegal because the artist has to get a medical license to be able to tattoo any client. This is because the needle is considered to be acupuncture and just like acupuncture you have to have a license to be able to conduct such a "procedure". It's the act of performing a tattoo that is illegal in Korea. That is very unlike the U.S. which tattoo artists do not have to go through a process of being medically licensed to give a tattoo to a client. Being Korean and having a tattoo isn't illegal at all, but if you see a native Korean in Korea with a tattoo just know that they had to go "underground" to get a tattoo done. No tattoo shop is open about being a tattoo shop unless they are a full medically licensed tattoo shop. Many of the tattoo shops in Korea can be found via Instagram in which they will have instructions about booking an appointment with them and where to go from there. It's a shame that such a beautiful form of art is still not able to be openly shared to the public. My tattoo experience was with an amazing "underground" artist.

Also tattoos have been seen as "taboo" in the eyes of the older generation. Tattoos have been seen as rebellious and bad cause they can ruin your chance of work. Which sounds very similar to some ideas in the U.S. However, the trend of tattoos in Korea have been rising more and more. The younger generation (those around my age) are the ones who are are going out and getting tattoos. Those who get tattoos have now been young adults to maybe 30 year olds as well as those who enjoy this form of artistic expression. There are even some K-pop idols who have tattoos and openly show them to the public. This is indicating a new wave of what is appropriate and what it isn't in the motion Korean beauty standards and self-expression.

My Tattoo

I spent lots of time considering who I wanted to go to for my tattoo experience. I originally wanted to go to @saegeemtattoo for my tattoo because their art is by far amazing. However, they were not available in the time frame that I was hoping to get the tattoo done. I was disappointed but knew that it was okay to not go to them. I started looking at the other artist from the studio (StudioSol) to see who else could possibly do my tattoo. I looked at a few of the other artist and none of them stood out to me for tattoo idea as much as my artist SooSoo did. You can find her on Instagram @soosoo.tattoo. Her style is more detailed and kinda a delicate type of stroke in her shading that I didn't see from other artists. In her Instagram bio (just like many of the Korean Tattoo artist) give her KakaoTalk ID with a link along with an Instagram highlight about how to book a tattoo with her. I reached out to her and sent her the idea of the tattoo to her. The tattoo idea came from a BTS song: Singularity which is sung by my favorite member "V" a.k.a Kim Taehyung. The music video is very beautiful as well as the song has a very deep meaning when translated into English.(I will provide links to the music video and lyric translation). I sent her screenshots of the parts of the music video I wanted to have tattoo and then sent her a reference picture of the tattoo style that I was going for. Then I confirmed my reservation with SooSoo. She then sent specific instructions about where I needed to go, what I need to do/say, and how I should prepare for my tattoo. The Korean tattoo artist ONLY gives out their location AFTER a booking is confirmed. Then two days before the appointment SooSoo sent me her sketch of my tattoo and I was in love with how it appeared.

The Day of The Appointment

July 1st at 3pm was the date and time of my appointment. My friend, Daisy, came along with me for the the appointment. Before the appointment around 12pm we stopped to have lunch at a Korean Barbecue restaurant and had samgyupsal (pork belly) prior to going on a bus to go to the area of Mapo-gu where my tattoo appointment was going to be. The tattoo shop puts on a persona of a real coffee shop. The coffee shop is this very clean, white walled, simple, and modern aesthetic with a simple barista bar. I was given instructions to go up to the barista and let them know that I had an appointment at 3pm. I went up to the barista and told him that I have an appointment at 3pm, he then gave instructions to text my artist that I was here. After texting my artist she told me to come upstairs where she opened the door for me and that's when I met her for the first time. My friend who came along with my stayed down in the cafe while I went upstairs. SooSoo took me into one of the artist tattooing booths. She was very nice and super patient with me especially due to our language differences. After being brought into the room she left me there for a bit about 10 minutes to get the different size samples of my tattoo. SooSoo came back with her different size samples and I picked the one that I believed would look the best on my arm. After picking it she took me to the mirror and began to place the transfer paper onto my arm. I was super happy with how the transfer sketch looked on my arm. It was so cool to be able to start the process. I was left again for another 30 minutes waiting for the transfer sketch to dry. I got to look around the little booth area I was in. It was a private little booth with super earthy tones and a sign that notes the wifi and how that they use a single use needle for their tattooing. After the 30 minute wait period SooSoo came back with the ink and her tattoo gun to get my process officially started. SooSoo had me lay down on the table, gave me a pillow, and even a blanket to make myself comfortable. SooSoo then adjusted my arm to a position in which allowed her the better angle. She then spoke: "I'm going to start now." At that moment I got nervous....nervous about what the pain will be like....nervous about actually getting a tattoo....nervous about the fact it will be permanently on my body....and so on.

When the needle first hit my skin I was slightly shocked by how much my arm was vibrating from the needle. Then I felt the needle scratching against the skin. I had to keep telling myself what my friend Daisy said to me: imagine an intense cat scratch. I kept telling myself this is just a very deep cat scratch. Eventually I got used to the feeling and stopped paying attention to it. I actually started to feel tired and almost would fall asleep at times actually. As soon as I felt that I could nap SooSoo would start shading an area and it would make me perk up cause of the pain. I took one break in the session for a bathroom break. I was determined to get it all done without multiple breaks. There were times during the tattoo session that I would think "Oh my God, I'm getting a tattoo", "I can't go back now", "I think this is going to be so cool after it's done". During the session I would stretch my arm and take a peak of the process. I was always so amazed how beautiful the colors and shading was at the various stages of the process. Closer to the end of the tattoo I was getting irritated and annoyed with the feeling of the pain as well as the fact that I was getting hungry. Then after 2 1/2 hours SooSoo stops and tells me she is finished. She then takes me again to the mirror to show me the finished product. She kept telling me how hard it was to do the little details and shading as well as how pretty it was. I knew instantly that was an amazing decision to get my tattoo done by her. It was beautiful (still is) but I was in awe of my first tattoo. SooSoo then sprayed antibacterial spray onto my tattoo and told me to keep the bandage on top it for 10 minutes. After that 10 minutes she took me into another room which is set up with special lighting and a professional camera. That room is for taking photos of the tattoos once they are finished. She kept posing my hands and arm to get the best photo of her beautiful work. Then she took me back into the room and did a video of her wiping more antibacterial spray off of my tattoo. She was really proud of her work and deserved to be. Then I paid her all in cash. As part of her job being an underground career it requires to paid all in cash so that there is no physical transaction of a tattoo service being done.

After payment I received instructions of aftercare. I am currently using diaper rash cream for the tattoo healing (as recommended). Then I said my goodbye and left to meet my friend who was waiting downstairs for me. I was surprised at how complex the tattoo situation was but how getting a tattoo can be so liberating. This tattoo is so meaningful to me that no one will ever understand the complex layering that the tattoo has to me. It is freeing to be able to get a tattoo for yourself as a way to express yourself and something that means something to you. The tattoo represents my bias, my time in Korea, one of my favorite songs, my ability of seeing BTS twice in one year which seemed impossible, my ability to overcome bouts of depression and anxiety because of my bias and BTS, and etc., I wouldn't trade my tattoo for anything.

Reflection of Tattoo

It's really crazy to see how many people who have seen my tattoo on SooSoo's Instagram page. The post about my tattoo has over 11,000 likes. That many people have seen my tattoo from various of areas in the world. There are people that go to Yonsei University that have seen my tattoo first on her page and are shocked to know that it's me with the tattoo. It is a surreal experience because I know in my heart how much it means to me and how cool it is to have it on my body. Even though I explained some of what the tattoo represents that's only some of it. But hey, I don't need to explain why I got a cool tattoo in Korea besides the fact that I could, I can, and I did.

It's been a couple weeks since I got my tattoo and it's healing quite well so far. It is a little itchy but it isn't peeling as much as it was the first couple of days after getting the tattoo. I can't wait to see how it comes along as it continues to heal more.