Interesting article. Thank you OP.

Here’s an excerpt, but the entire article is neat:

For 34 years, only licensed doctors were allowed to ink tattoos in Korea and breaking the law could lead to heavy fines or jail.

It was meant to address concerns about hygiene and safety, but the law also played into social norms in a conservative country where body art is still deeply frowned upon. And it didn’t help that public perception continued to associate tattoos with gangsters and organised crime.

“We’ve come a long way,” says Kim. When he started tattooing in 2004, he used the pseudonym Sunrat Tattoo, and ran his first studio out of a basement. There was no sign and it was strictly invite-only.

When he launched Ink Bomb in 2008, he says every event was shut down by police: “We had to stop because they threatened to arrest or charge us. We’re back this year for the first time since 2014, and it’s incredible that we can now gather without any fear.”