Episode 12: Tattoos

By Kirin Gosselin

Episode Summary (from Netflix):

Si-mok and Yeo-jin discover perplexing leads while searching Kyung-wan’s basement. Dong-jae does back to Chang-jun’s office to fetch his cell phone.

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Discussion:

This idea of having tattoos or not having tattoo’s, I believe, leads back to the concept of individualism and at the same time collectivism. Korea, like other Asian societies, is known to having a collectivist society. Tattoos are either integrated completely into a particular society (i.e. North America) or they are frowned upon (i.e. Korea).

Yoon Se-won's tattoo

Judy Park discusses in her article that the “Korean word for tattoo is munshin,” and translated it means ‘letters engraved on the body’ (2016, 74). She further explains that tattoos during the early Joseon Dynasty were used as a form of punishment or were used to make servants; however, turning into the modern age, tattoos “developed into a sign of membership among criminals or gangs in Korea” (Ibid, 74). Though there is no evidence of this in the drama, what we do see is Yoon Se-won’s tattoo, which he had gotten from his time in the special forces. Under the assumption that Se-won got this with the rest of the force, this shows that as a group they got a tattoo to show/remind themselves that they were a team/ fought together.

The first mention of a tattoo in this drama was in episode twelve around the one hour and two-minute mark when Young Eun-soo spills juice onto Yoon Se-won’s shirt. From Eun-soo’s reaction, we can see that for her, a tattoo is not a big deal. It’s mentioned again in episode fourteen when Si-mok notes at around the one hour mark, that polices officers are not allowed to have tattoos. I find this interesting, as someone who grew up in North America, I’m used to seeing first responders with tattoos. However, given the fact as mentioned above, that Koreans associate tattoos with criminals and gangs, it’s is understandable why police officers are not allowed to have any.

Since the younger generation is trying to build a different set of values for themselves, we can see that the repulsion of tattoos in Korea is starting to change. The more tattoos that the younger generation gets, the more accepted tattoos could become in society. So, what is shown through this, is that the younger generations acts of individualism are also, in a way acts of collectivism, as they collectively decide that they want to go against the norms and values that the older generation had made for themselves. Park addresses that Korea is a “country where being part of a group and in harmony with others is considered a virtue based on traditional Confucian values" (Ibid, 75). Perhaps, one day, people will be able to accept tattoos in society.

wc: 436 *note on Se-won’s tattoo: after a quick google search, UDT stands for Underwater Demolition Team, which was a group used during World War 2, Korean War and the Vietnam War.

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Bibliography:

Park, Judy. “Signs of Social Change on the Bodies of Youth: Tattoos in Korea.” Visual Communication15, no. 1 (2016): 71–92

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QUESTIONS:

As I mentioned in my discussion, for me, seeing first responders with tattoos doesn’t bother mean. In that same respect, I don’t associate people with tattoos to be criminals. Do you think that, over time, that Korea can learn to accept that for some people tattoos are for their own pleasure and not for gang activity?

Do you think that Korea would ever allow police officers to have tattoos?

I think that by getting a tattoo, it doesn't really show your individualism, do you agree? Why or why not?