In Korea, the Constitutional Court has outlawed all tattoo artists by confirming at the end of March the prohibition of tattooing by anyone who is not a medical practitioner. Tattoo artists face up to two years in prison and a fine of 10 million won (€7,500). Koreans have reason to be extremely disappointed. For several years, several of them have been mobilising to make their voices heard. They had initiated a procedure to repeal the idiotic law of 1992, according to which you had to be a doctor to tattoo. But it was unsuccessful. In its decision, the Constitutional Court cited the risk of "health-related side effects" if tattoos were not done by people other than health professionals. Japan experienced similar nonsense in 2015 before an Osaka tattoo artist - Masuda Taiki - took the case to the Japanese Supreme Court. On September 16, 2020, the court ruled against all odds in favour of the tattoo artists. A decision that paved the way for recognition of the profession. Let's wish the Korean tattooists a similarly happy outcome, in a country that would count, according to the Korean Tattoo Association, at least one million tattooists.
