Want to get a tattoo in South Korea, but don’t know where to start looking for an artist? Instagram hashtags are your best bet for finding a talented Korean tattoo artist that fits what you’re looking for.
Pro-tip: If you see a tattoo artist with the username “tattooer,” “tattooist,” and “tt,” the vast majority of the time, they are Korean. At least, whenever I searched those terms without the hashtag, I got Korean tattoo artists.
I went through some Naver blogs (credited at the end) and tons of posts under #타투 (tatu. Literally Konglish for “tattoo”) to find the most popular styles, Instagram hashtags, subjects, and locations to share with you.
I’ve divided it up into multiple categories: General hashtags (ie: #tattoo, but in Korean), location (ie: Seoul), popular styles in Korea, general descriptive words, popular subjects in Korea, and common places on the body to get tattooed.
A Guide to Pronouncing Romanized Korean Words
Korean vowels spelled in English are not always intuitive.
The easy ones are of course: a, e, i, o, u, which are respectively pronounced as ah, eh, ee, oh, oo.
So how about eo, eu, and ae? Eo is pronounced like a mix between aw and uh. Eu is pronounced like a mix between eh and uh. Ae sounds like a mix between eh and ay.
Kind of confusing? No worries, I and plenty of English-speakers struggle with these three vowels too. Just know that they are not pronounced like eh-oh, eh-oo, or ah-eh.
Disclaimer, I’m going to list the Romanization mostly using the standardized system, but I will mix in a little bit of spelling based on what I find helpful for pronunciation. For example, si (시) will become shi. Also, seuteu (스트) will become steu.
General Tattoo Hashtags
These tattoo hashtags are listed in order of the search result volume.
#타투 (tatu. Tattoo)
#문신 (munshin. Lit. “tattoo”)
My Korean teacher once told me that 문신 is associated with gangsters and huge, scary men.
However, I’ve also seen it used while describing cosmetic tattoos, such as 눈썹 문신 (middle picture).
I rarely see it used in reference to decorative tattoos, though.
#타투도안 (tatu doan. Literal translation of “tattoo design”)
#반영구타투 (banyeonggu tatu. Cosmetic tattoo/Semi-permanent makeup)
#여자타투 (yeoja tatu. Woman tattoo)
#타투디자인 (tatu dijain. Tattoo design)
#타투이스트 (tatuisteu. Tattooist)
#타투이벤트 (tatu ibenteu. Tattoo event)
#일러스트타투 (ilreosteu tatu. Illustration tattoo)
#남자타투 (namja tatu. Man tattoo)
#타투추천 (tatu chucheon. Tattoo recommendation)
#커버업 (keobeo eop. Cover-up)
#커버업타투 (keobeo eop tatu. Cover-up tattoo)
#첫타투 (cheot tatu. First tattoo)
#흉터커버업 (hyungteo keobeo eop. Scar cover-up)
Location Hashtags
These are best for finding a tattoo artist near you. If you search your city, district, or neighborhood and add “타투” at the end, you will likely get at least a few thousand results.
I’ll use Seoul as an example:
#서울타투
Seoul is a huge city though, and it takes me an hour and a half to cross it by subway. So I’m going to search by district.
By far the most prolific location hashtag is #홍대타투 (Hongdae tattoo), even compared to #서울타투.
Note that a lot of people lie about being a tattooist from Seoul (especially Hongdae) or Busan, so make sure you check their bio for their real location.
You don’t have to be from Seoul or Busan to get thousands of results, though. Even if you think your area is too small, you would be surprised.
Popular Tattoo Styles in Korea
Hashtags from now on are sorted alphabetically (in English). Bolded hashtags in this section have over 500,000 search results.
#추상타투 (chusang tatu. Abstract tattoo)
#동양화타투 (dongyang-hwa tatu. Asian tattoo. Like a traditional Asian painting)
#블랙엔그레이 (beulraeg aen geurei. Black and gray)
#블랙워크 (beulraeg wokeu. Blackwork)
#치카노타투 (chikano tatu. Chicano tattoo)
#드로잉타투 (deuroing tatu. Drawing tattoo. Tattoos that look like sketches)
#낙서타투 (nakseo tatu. Graffiti tattoo)
#핸드포크타투 (haendeupokeu tatu. Handpoked tattoo)
#이레즈미 (irejeumi. Irezumi, or Japanese tattoos)
#라인타투 (rain tatu. Line tattoo)
#레터링타투 (reteoring tatu. Lettering tattoo)
#감성타투 (kamseong tatu. Lit. “sensitive tattoo” but it really means fine line or minimalist tattoos. This is one of the most popular tattoo style tags on Korean Instagram)
#미니타투 (mini tatu. Minimalist tattoo. Lit. “mini”. Also one of the most popular tattoo style tags on Korean Instagram)
#뉴스쿨타투 (nyuseukul tatu. New school tattoo)
#올드스쿨타투 (oldeuseukul tatu. Old school tattoo)
#빈티지타투 (bintiji tatu. Vintage tattoo)
#수채화타투 (suchaehwa tatu. Watercolor tattoo)
General Descriptive Words
#블랙타투 (beulraeg tatu. Black tattoo, but it can include both black and gray as well as blackwork tattoos)
#컬러타투 (keorleo tatu. Color tattoo)
#귀여운타투 (gwiyeoun tatu. Cute tattoo)
#심플타투 (simpeul tatu. Simple tattoo)
Popular Tattoo Subjects
#동물타투 (dongmul tatu. Animal tattoo)
#고양이타투 (goyang-i tatu. Cat tattoo)
#반려묘타투 (balryeomyo tatu. Pet cat tattoo)
#강아지타투 (gang-aji tatu. Dog tattoo)
#반려견타투 (banryeogyeon tatu. Pet dog tattoo)
#용타투 (yong tatu. Dragon tattoo)
#반려동물타투 (banryeodongmul tatu. Pet tattoo/lit. “animal companion”)
#뱀타투 (baem tatu. Snake tattoo)
#호랑이타투 (horangi tatu. Tiger tattoo)
#고래타투 (gorae tatu. Whale tattoo)
#나비타투 (nabi tatu. Butterfly tattoo)
#캐릭터타투 (kaerikteo tatu. Character tattoo)
#칼타투 (kal tatu. Dagger/knife tattoo)
#하트타투 (hateu tatu. Heart tattoo)
#인물타투 (inmul tatu. Portrait tattoo. Lit. “person tattoo”. Refers to a famous or historical person)
#식물타투 (shikmul tatu. Plant tattoo)
#꽃타투 (kkot tatu. Flower tattoo)
#나무타투 (namu tatu. Tree tattoo)
#바다타투 (bada tatu. Sea tattoo)
#파도타투 (pado tatu. Wave tattoo)
#우주타투 (uju tatu. Space tattoo)
#별타투 (byeol tatu. Star tattoo)
#별자리타투 (byeoljari tatu. Constellation tattoo)
#달타투 (dal tatu. Moon tattoo)
#해골타투 (haegol tatu. Skull tattoo)
Body Placement
#발목타투 (balmok tatu. Ankle tattoo)
#팔타투 (pal tatu. Arm tattoo)
#등타투 (deung tatu. Back tattoo)
#등판타투 (deungpan tatu. Backpiece tattoo)
#가슴타투 (gaseum tatu. Chest tattoo)
#귀타투 (gwi tatu. Ear tattoo)
#귀뒤타투 (gwidwi tatu. Back of the ear tattoo)
#눈썹문신 (nunsseop munshin. Eyebrow tattoo/microblading)
#손가락타투 (songarak tatu. Finger tattoo)
#손타투 (son tatu. Hand tattoo)
#두피타투 (dupi tatu. Head tattoo. Lit. “scalp”)
#두피문신 (dupi munshin. Refers to hairline tattoos, a type of cosmetic tattoo)
#골반타투 (golban tatu. Hip tattoo. Lit. “pelvis”)
#목타투 (mok tatu. Neck tattoo)
#옆구리타투 (yeopguri tatu. Rib tattoo. Lit. “side”)
#어깨타투 (eoggae tatu. Shoulder tattoo)
#손목타투 (sonmok tatu. Wrist tattoo)
Don’t see a style you want? Want to know what people are searching to find your subject? Send your suggestions to tigerinked.kr@gmail.com or comment below!
I will do my best to help you find the best tags. Additionally, I will post another list of hashtags in the future based on suggestions and changes in the search result volume.
Naver Blogs
These two blogs helped me find some of the general and style tags to get started.
