Why being a tattoo artist was illegal in South Korea for so long? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 16, 2026 · 9 MIN

Why being a tattoo artist was illegal in South Korea for so long?

from What in the World · host BBC World Service

For decades, only licensed doctors were allowed to ink tattoos in South Korea and breaking the law could lead to heavy fines or jail. Now, that law has been overturned, but there’s still a lot of stigma around body art in Korea, and east Asia more generally.Leehyun Choi, our BBC Reporter in Seoul, takes us through why and what is changing in South Korea.Plus, we hear from a Korean tattoo artist in the UK (@doo__tattoo) and a Japanese tattoo artist in Osaka, Japan (@taiki__tattoo) about how they see stigma towards tattoos changing.Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Benita Barden and Lucy Davies Video Producer: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 16, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Why being a tattoo artist was illegal in South Korea for so long?

0:00 9:58

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of What in the World?

This episode is 9 minutes long.

When was this What in the World episode published?

This episode was published on July 16, 2026.

Can I download this What in the World episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!