Tattooing is highly restricted in South Korea, legally permitted only for medical professionals.
Based on the provided information, everyone except medical professionals is banned from doing tattoos in South Korea. This significant restriction makes South Korea the only developed country where non-medical professionals are legally prohibited from performing tattooing services.
The tattoo ban was originally put in place in 1992. The primary reason cited for establishing this law was the fear that decorative body art was associated with criminal and gang activity.
Therefore, while getting a tattoo is not explicitly illegal for an individual, the act of performing a tattoo is illegal for the vast majority of people who work as tattoo artists, as they are not medical professionals. This legal framework is the core issue surrounding tattooing in the country.
