Man Tattoos His Entire Body to Avoid Korean Mandatory Military Service
His jail sentence was suspended which means his plan to dodge mandatory service did in fact work:
A man has been given a jail term for having his body covered with tattoos to avoid mandatory military service.
Under the conscription law, men with “excessive” tattoos on their bodies are immune from duty for fear that they could upset other soldiers.
The man, 20, was sentenced to one year in prison with the term suspended for two years, the court in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, revealed Monday. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
Korean Yakuza? Is there even such a thing?
There’s always organized crime, but most of the Korean criminals I’ve ever heard of are either small time street hoods, bar owners, or chaebol CEOs.
Wikipedia says Geondal or Jopok is the closest to the Yakuza, but their powerbase is further south in Gwangju, Busan and Mokpo. Incheon as well, but that’s also away from Seoul for the most part.
I’ve met a few Koreans with tattoos, but they are usually small and discreet.
The picture with this story appears to be a stock photo and not of the actual person the article is about. The artwork in the tattoos looks to be very Japanese.
Maybe. Could be stock photos, but these are (supposed to be) Korean Gangster Tattoos:
http://unerasablemarks.tumblr.com/post/87725420042/korean-gang-symbols
Some of those look Japanese, but unless the Yakuza has established a beachhead in South Korea… Some seem centered on a face while the others are more freeform.
Only saw one guy with a major tattoo in Korea, the remaining few were small. Most Koreans don’t get tattoos, but it is slowly becoming acceptable. Oddly enough, I saw more women than men with little bits of body art.