South Korean lawyer uses BTS' Jungkook's pictures to push bill to legalize tattoo artists

Representative Ryu Ho Jung from South Korea’s Justice Party has been making many headlines recently. The neophyte lawyer took to her Instagram handle to announce the drafting of her Tattoo Up Act which aims to make tattooing legal and regulated in Korea. Ryu Ho Jung shared a long note along with pictures of BTS' Jungkook and wrote, "Take the bandages off of BTS!”.

Ryu Ho Jung uses BTS' Jungkook's photos to push bill to legalize tattoo artists in South Korea

According to a report by Korea Boo, South Korea's Justice Party's representative Ryu Ho Jung took to her social media handle recently and shared pictures of BTS' Jungkook, where his tattoos were clearly visible. She did this in order to legalize tattoos and tattoo artists in South Korea. Her caption, written in Korean, after translation read, "Have you ever seen a 'band-aid' on the body of your favourite celebrity? This hideous sight, which is often seen on Korean TV shows, is created as a measure by the broadcasting station to cover up the 'tattoo'. Claims that tattoos harm ethical feelings or emotions or adversely affect young viewers are not persuasive in the face of freedom of artistic expression. However, ‘tattooing’ is still illegal. It really was. The ‘system’ was not able to keep up with the changes in the world that respect the individuality and creativity of free individuals." 

She continues to fight for the tattoo artists’ rights as labour laws do not currently protect them. Tattoo artists in Korea are in constant danger of losing their income and sometimes even going to prison. She further wrote in her caption, "Beautiful paintings and wonderful words from tattoos that are common around us are illegal in Korea. Korea has over 3 million people with tattoos and tattoos have been deemed as high artistry across the world. Even domestic tattooists are revered as outstanding artists on the world stage but Korea ignored them."

The young politician is hopeful of passing this act so that tattooing can become legal and in a way where the government can regulate it. The act will also mention the requirements for issuing tattooing licenses only to skilled and qualified artists. She also emphasized that this would protect tattooists and guarantee people’s rights to health, hygiene, and safety management.

Image - Ryu Ho Jung's Instagram Account