Tattoo Taboo

Today I found a brilliant article to talk about. [link]

This link is connected to the article in all Korean, which was posted by a gentle businessman about his story in recent. For those who need a translation. I'm giving you a summary.

The writer is a huge fan of rap music. Eminem is one of his favorites. Just the other day, he thought about getting the same tattoo with the Eminem's on his shoulder--drawn his daughter. While he has a girl friend who's promised to get married to next year, he just got it without a notice to his girl friend.

10 days ago, finally she found it and said "How come you got a hena tattoo in this winter?"--hena tattoo is so erasable that some people often do it for a beach season temporarily in Korea. He said "Honey, it's real." She rubbed it with her instant saliva, but she couldn't wipe it out. Then, "BAAAAM!!"

She started crying, "Now I've come to see you are a bad boy!" And said, "You don't deserve a pretty daughter. At a swimming place, you won't able to say a thing to your daughter when people glance at your fat-axx tattoo." As she was packing her stuff about to step out, I stopped her and said "Look, I also had your initial, too," he showed 'sj love forever' to her, "As much as for my pleasure, this is for you. I can't meet another for this in the future." She threw one of her high heels.

They've seen for 9 years and promised to get married. However, their relationship is in danger now. He posted this asking other people to counsel him.

Though more Korean people are trying to have tattoos than before, I have to confess that tattoo is still a symbol of dark alley. Why Koreans have a bad image of tattoo?

1.
Once upon a time, tattoo was used as a form of punishment in Chinese, Japan, and Korea.([link])

2.
Moreover, Korean media including news, comedy shows and movies have shown gangsters threatening normal people with showing their tattoo saying "Be Kind To Others" which is a paradox and a well-knwon slogan of Korean gangsters. That's how many Koreans have grown an image of 'frightening tattoo'.

3.
That hasn't been just a little prejudice but a widespread reason for certain important decisions. I know it isn't very long ago that tattooed men could have an exemption for joining mandatory military service! Because the society's common sense thought tattooed men -> scary -> expected to cause a harmony failure in the unit. Later, it was corrected for many had pretended so to avoid the military, though.

When I was with the US Army, almost all my friends had even a small tattoo at least. Their tattoos were about their friends, family, and intersets. As far as I've seen, they were all about love. No love, no tattoo--that's what I'd learned.

Tattoo in Korea seems to go through a long long way to get over the bad image that many Koreans still have in the year of 2007. Because that image has been untouched for hundreds to thousands years--I can't count it off. Tattoo is still on its way.

My opinion? I also used to feel bad with it for no particular reason. The choice's the same as before. I'm still not really for tattoo culture. But the reason has been changed--Because it hurts:) and I prefer keeping my 'lovely-parent-presented' body less-stung from drawing words and pictures on my body. Is there anybody who feels the brand-new reason I made look better?