People think of tattoos in a negative way and are prejudiced against those who have them. In the past, people who have tattoos on their bodies usually were gangsters or criminals, so we think tattoos as a symbol of delinquency. For this reason, in our society, people can't get a decent job if they have tattoos where others can see. Moreover, they couldn’t join the army if they have more than 50% of tattoos on their body (Financial News, December 1, 2020). There is still a strong restriction to be an officer or a sergeant. If you have a vulgar tattoo which is more than 7cm, you are still disqualified. However, I believe that this long lasting stereotype of tattoos should do away with because of some reasons. Tattoos can be one way to show their personal traits, and remind them of their precious memories. Moreover, today tattoos can be a beautiful artistic way to cover one’s unwanted scars.

             These days, more and more people have an open mind about tattooing on their bodies. They believe it's a kind of art where they can share their lifestyles, thoughts and memories with others. According to “Dalia Research,” 38 percent of people say they have a tattoo. Nowadays, almost every generation enjoys having tattoos on their bodies showing off their traits, thoughts and beauty. Tattoos are no longer confined to gangsters and criminals. Research from “Dalia Research” shows that Italy, Sweden, and the USA have nearly half their population with tattoos. “Trendmonitor” shows that 62.7% of people in Korea want to have a tattoo on their body, and 70.9% have no bias on tattooing or against the people that have them. Also, 62% of people see tattoo relevant jobs or businesses will prosper steadily in the future. Unless the tattoo is abhorable or disgusting to others who see it, people have the freedom to express themselves and we can consider it an art. Angelina Jolie, who is a famous American actress who adopted 3 of 6 children from all over the world, tattooed her children’s names on her arm. Like her, some people want to carve their special memories on their bodies to keep it forever as an art. Likewise, tattoos are enjoyed by many age groups and are not limited to those who are delinquent anymore.

             Tattoos have taken advantage of healing people’s minds. People who have scars which they wanted to erase but couldn’t can turn their ugly, unforgettable scars into beautiful art with a tattoo. To those people, tattooists can be more than a psychiatrist. An artificial “healing instead of hatred” (Seoul Sinmun Daily 2017.9.10) claims that now tattooing is more than just a fashion or personal trait. It can heal people suffering from burnt surgery and wounded scars. From tattooist Yuseoung’s blog, there are amazing cases that show how scars can turn into art. People can overcome their drawbacks and remind them to live on with the healing of a beautiful art by a tattoo.

             On the contrary, there are still lots of people who are against tattooing. Whatever the tattoo is, they think it is just detestable. For that reason, there has been an improvement of physical examination for police officials. There should be no tattoo which can be judged that the content of the tattoo and exposure can damage the reputation of a police official, for tattoos can show abhorrence, salacity, discrimination, and can also be a symbol of a criminal organization (Civil servant tattoos, March 25, 2022). Also, Korea is the only country where tattooing is restricted by law(sedaily, January 15, 2022). Whenever the celebrities are on air, they should cover their tattoos with stickers or cosmetics. It is because their tattoos can make people feel disgusted. One of the famous tattooists named Ri Na Ahn divorced due to her tattoos on the body. Though her husband knew before the marriage and accepted it, his family members couldn’t accept her as their family. She couldn’t overcome their hatred and biases. She tried her best, only to fail her marriage. Ridiculously, once she was charged with a crime of indecent behavior in the sauna just because of her having too many tattoos, which is also a unique law in Korea. Like this, there are many people who are getting discriminated against because of having drawings on their body, even though it isn’t hard to understand such a small change.

             In conclusion,living in the 21st century, our society should get rid of our long-lasting stereotypes against tattoos. Rather than persisting biases on tattooed people, we’d better accept it as their freedom of personal traits, kind of art and moreover we should appreciate it as a treatment for some people. Likewise, there are sides that claim that tattoos show delinquency and it does not give trust, there are some people who need the help from them to keep precious memories or remove traces of scars with bad memories. Tattooing is one kind of culture and we can foresee upcoming rinsing economic growth in it.

Works Cited

(2021, September 14) Can civil servants have tattoos? Health : Naver Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2022, from blog.naver.com/vmfkdtm31/222504810767

Healing instead of hatred... Will there be a way to legalize tattoos? The Seoul Sinmun Daily. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2022, from m.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?cp=seoul&id=20170911009003

In an atmosphere where the tattoo industry and individual tastes are respected, the perception of tattoos becomes generous. trendmonitor. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2022, from trendmonitor.co.kr/tmweb/trend/allTrend/detail.do?bIdx=1696&code=0503&trendType=CKOREA

Chang-ki, Hong. (2020, December 1). "It's no use getting tattoos." Even if I get tattoos all over my body, I'll join the military. Financial News. Retrieved March 25, 2022, from fnnews.com/news/202012010954591350

Medical practice vs art practice, debate on legalizing tattoos continues. Medical practice vs. art practice, debate on legalizing tattoos continues: Naver Post. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2022, from m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?volumeNo=32622256&memberNo=28656674

Research, D. (2018, May 17). Who has the most tattoos? it's not who you'd expect. Medium. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from medium.com/daliaresearch/who-has-the-most-tattoos-its-not-who-you-d-expect-1d5ffff660f8

(2022, January 15). The legalization of tattooing between illegal and art..."Regulation is the only one in Korea." VS "concerned about side effects.". Seoul Economy. Retrieved March 26, 2022, from sedaily.com/NewsVIew/260VINKGEH#:~:text=%ED%83%80%ED%88%AC%EB%8A%94%20%EC%A7%80%EB%82%9C%201992%EB%85%84,%EC%9D%B4%EB%9E%98%EB%A1%9C%20%ED%98%84%EC%9E%AC%EA%B9%8C%EC%A7%80%20%EB%B6%88%EB%B2%95%EC%9D%B4%EB%8B%A4.