Once you actually contact a Korean tattoo artist, everything is the same as what you would do and think about in America. At least, they’re the same in terms of communication before the day of your appointment.
How quickly an artist replies will vary from person to person. Some may reply on the same day, assuming that you didn’t message them at 10 pm. Others may take a few days to get back to you because they get a lot of messages, they’re on vacation, etc.
Here are some tips once they do reply.
Things to Consider Before Contacting a Tattoo Artist
Besides your tattoo design idea, desired placement, and tattoo artist of choice, there are a few extra things you need to consider before booking a tattoo appointment with a Korean tattoo artist.
1. Price
The price will vary depending on the artist, the complexity of the design, and the size of the tattoo. The only person that can give you a price range for the tattoo you want is the artist themself.
Keep in mind that tattoos in Korea tend to be more expensive than American ones. I’ll explain how to tactfully bring up the price later. Also,
You will also have to pay a deposit before your appointment once you’ve confirmed a day. This gives the artist some insurance in case clients cancel. That price varies by artist and design, so I can’t really give a price range for this either.
Just be aware that you’ll be asked to bank transfer the tattoo artist some money upfront. This also varies depending on the artist. If I remember correctly, I’ve paid anywhere between 5-20% of the tattoo’s price, which counts towards the payment for the tattoo.
One perk is you don’t have to factor in tips. Tipping culture is not a thing in Korea, and can even be considered rude or embarrassing sometimes.
2. Mode of Contact
Make sure you read the artist’s Instagram bio or look at their pinned posts for contact information. The three most common preferred platforms (in order) are Kakao Open Chat, email, or DM.
If an artist wants you to DM them, they will explicitly say so in their bio or just not have ANY other contact information anywhere.
What is Kakao? What is Open Chat? KakaoTalk is a popular, free Korean messaging app. Open Chat is a special feature in the app where neither party needs to share their mobile number or Kakao ID with the other and can maintain their privacy.
Here’s a mini-post about how to create an open chat profile with KakaoTalk.
3. Should I Message Them in Korean or English?
My personal rule of thumb is if the tattoo artist does long posts or stories in English, or has their booking policy translated into English, then the answer is English.
Otherwise, I would use Korean. It’s just my personal opinion on courtesy when visiting someone else’s country. If they reply in English anyway, switch to English.
Just because they have “booking open” or “DM me” in English on their profile does not always mean that they are comfortable with English conversationally. I learned this while I was contacting some tattoo artists for permission to use their images.
If you decide it’s best to message them in Korean, but you’re not feeling confident, there’s no shame in using a translator. Not Google Translate, though. Use Papago, a widely used translator created in Korea
It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better than Google Translate. Koreans and non-Korean speakers use it all the time to communicate in South Korea.
4. You Probably Won't Get to See Your Tattoo Design Until Your Appointment
A lot of artists, Korean or not, do this to prevent art theft. It is not uncommon for people to take the artist’s design and give it to a different artist to do it at a cheaper price.
It goes without saying that this is a big no-no for a lot of reasons. So please understand if the tattoo artist is uncomfortable with sending their design before your big day.
However, if the artist does send you their tattoo design early on, great! I have a couple of notes at the end if that’s the case.
Contacting an Artist: Do's and Don'ts
Okay! Now you’ve chosen your artist, you found their contact information, and you’re ready to send that first message. But what should you say? This list can be applied anywhere, not just in Korea.
DON'T: Ask the tattoo artist to copy someone else's tattoo.
Do not get a picture of some other artist’s beautiful custom tattoo and tell your tattoo artist to copy it. That’s art theft and disrespectful to both tattoo artists’ hard work and skills.
DO: Describe your tattoo.
I personally send a little hello and tell them a very brief description of my idea. It’s usually just a few sentences, but it would depend on how complex your design is. It’s also good to include a size range and the part of your body that you want to get the tattoo on.
This is optional, but I also send a sketch and reference pictures, like photos from Google. I often send pictures of that artist’s previous work to show what I liked about their other designs so that they can incorporate similar elements into my tattoo.
This also helps to keep my description short. If they need more information, they will ask you.
DON'T: Ask "How much?" without saying what your idea is.
Don’t get me wrong, knowing the price is very important! However, keep in mind that people who just ask for the price without giving any details sound like they’re shopping around for a cheap deal and don’t really care about the artist’s craft.
DO: After you've explained your idea, it's okay to politely ask for a price range.
Don’t ask for or expect an exact number. The way I usually bring up the price is by asking something along the lines of, “Roughly how much would this design be? I want to make sure I have enough saved up!” I don’t know if this is the best way, but it has worked for me so far.
DON'T: Haggle.
That’s basically saying that you don’t think their skills are worth what they’re asking for. Permanently marking someone without an undo button is not an easy task, so it’s not going to be cheap if you want it to look good for a long time.
If it’s outside of your price range, no worries. Just find another artist that you like and is within your budget (assuming that you are asking for a reasonable price).
Personally, if the price deters me from getting the tattoo, I take it as a sign that I don’t want my tattoo that much. That is, unless the artist is asking for $200 for something super simple and minimalistic, like one little wave. Then, that tattooist might be a different kind of scam artist.
If You Do Get to See Your Design Before Your Appointment
DO: Stay open-minded.
If the artist suggests changes to your design, trust their advice. None of my tattoos have looked exactly the same as my initial ideas or sketches. Some of them ended up looking completely different from what I imagined, stylistically — in a good way!
Expectations vs. Reality
My sketch based on Hugo’s 2017 and 2018 tattoos vs. The actual tattoo he gave me in 2020
Note: I did not show him my sketch and I did not see the tattoo design until the day of my appointment. My point is that reality can be very different from expectations in a good way!)
The way I see it is you chose them because you trust that they know what does or doesn’t work on the body, even if that differs from what looks good on paper or in your mind.
However, it is a different story if they change it so much that there are almost no elements of what you originally wanted.
DON'T: Stay silent if you hate the changes.
It’s a balancing act. While I believe in letting an artist have their creative freedom, you’re not obligated to like their suggestions. If you don’t like them, you’re in your right to discuss more and negotiate some changes to try and find a middle ground.
What if you can’t find a middle ground? If there’s no way to reconcile, then you can cancel. It sucks for both of you and you lose your deposit, but the alternative is they give you a tattoo that at least one of you hates.
It’s important for you to get the tattoo you want; it’s on your body forever and you’re paying a lot of money for it.
However, I also personally think that tattoo artists should be allowed at least some degree of creative liberty and control over what work they put out there to represent themselves.
There’s also the possibility that you just can’t reach a middle ground where you’re both satisfied and it’s not necessarily anyone’s fault, just incompatible preferences. That’s just my personal opinion with the assumption that both parties have been polite and reasonably flexible.
So that is pretty much everything to keep in mind when you contact a tattoo artist and discuss your design. If you have any questions, comment below or shoot an email to tigerinked.kr@gmail.com!
