Luxurious Life of a Korean Tattoo Artist in the U.S

The daily life of the most famous Korean tattoo artist in San Francisco, USA, has been revealed.

Tattoo artist Jia was introduced in a video titled “Shocking Lives of Koreans in San Francisco with Extreme Prices [2]🇺🇲” recently posted on the YouTube channel ‘Heechulism’. She resides in a 3.5-story single-family house in San Mateo, known as a wealthy neighborhood.

The reason Jia could afford to live in an expensive neighborhood and house was due to her tattoo skills, which earned her a Korean monthly salary per hour. She is considered one of the best artists in San Francisco for her delicate details that look like the attached photos.

To get a procedure from her, you have to pay $1,300 for the first hour (approx. 1.74 million Korean won), and $700 (approx. 940,000 Korean won) for the second hour. Additional charges apply if extra time is required depending on the size and detail. A tip of 20% is added to these charges.

Jia stated that she earns an average of $2,700 per client based on a two-hour session, which is about $320k. Despite the high cost, she has 20,000 clients waiting.

Meanwhile, Jia expressed sympathy for tattoo artists working in Korea.

She cited not only income but also job stability as reasons. In the U.S., tattoos are legal, so they are regularly managed such as receiving hygiene education at least once a year or passing a qualification exam.

However, since it is still illegal in Korea a lot of illegal, uncomfortable, and dangerous elements are created because tattoo artists cannot receive proper education. If this happens, the probability of infection increases, and eventually, they may lose their jobs, she argued.

Netizens who saw the video reacted, “I thought it was too expensive, but looking at the quality of the tattoo, it seems worth the money”, “Korean people are dexterous”, “Korea should legalize tattoos so that tattoo artists can pay their taxes regularly”, and “This is a truly successful life”.

Meanwhile, according to Article 27, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Service Act in Korea, tattoo procedures are illegal. Tattoo practitioners have been demanding the legalization of tattoos, but it seems there is still a long way to go.

The Korean Medical Association and others have opposed the legalization of tattoos, arguing that tattoos are performed in an invasive method, which involves injecting dye under the skin using a needle, which can affect the body.

By. Eun Young Choi