Issue #11: The Whimisical World of Eunmi Song
There is no more apt word to describe Eunmi Song’s work than whimsical. Eunmi, a studied artist and tattooist from South Korea, can unearth your sense of wonder with the most jovial, vividly colored, and delicate artwork. Interestingly, the joy she captures so well in her pieces is a reinvigorated joy that once felt lost in her life. Since she was eight years old, her passion for art put her on the path to becoming a professional artist. Eunmi attended an arts-centered high school, and she studied art at university. Then it all stopped.
“I’m not sure exactly why, but it might have been because the gap between the pure joy of drawing as a child and the practical realities of adulthood became hard to reconcile,” she explains. After a lifetime of preparation for a traditional career in fine arts, Eunmi found herself unmotivated to continue down that path. In her quest to find a new path, tattooing emerged as a possibility.
Her interest in it began from the point of curiosity, she became enamored with the innovative art styles coming from the South Korean tattoo space. Her friends encouraged her to find out what was there. “It was such a revelation to discover that there was a different direction in art that I hadn’t considered before,” Eunmi recounts.
South Korea has a complicated relationship with tattooing. Since 1992, tattooing without a medical license has been considered a crime, if you are caught expect a hefty fine or even a possible prison stint. In 2022, the ruling was upheld again to the dismay of thousands of South Korean tattooists. More conservative South Koreans continue to view tattoos as a telltale of involvement in criminal activity.
Nevertheless, since the 2000s, tattoo culture has emerged in South Korea as tattoos became increasingly relevant in popular culture through the arts and music scene. South Korean artists have gained international attention for their delicate, small-color tattoos, and minimalist designs. Unfortunately, the legal constraints and social stigma surrounding tattooing make it exceedingly difficult for the tattoo industry to properly emerge, and the lack of structure breeds concerns about safety and hygiene, amongst other things.
These realities don’t hinder artists like Eunmi from continuing their journey, but it has not been without its hurdles. Practicing as a tattooist in South Korea requires stealth and discretion. You have no legal protections, and there are no guarantees that a disgruntled customer or a noisy observer won’t send the law to your door. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Eunmi.
“About three years ago, I was reported twice and had to undergo police investigations for violation of medical law,” she reveals. The second report came just three months from the first one - both reports came from the same person. The idea that someone was watching her to jeopardize her life and her career, caused Eunmi to confront a decision. She had to leave South Korea. “I no longer felt that I could work safely and happily there,” she explains.
Eunmi moved to the US. Luckily, her art was becoming popular in virtual spaces with large US viewers. She already had a blossoming clientele before she ever stepped foot in the country. Operating with fewer constraints and learning more about her new environment has allowed Eunmi to dig heels into her work. Her love of vivid colors is ever-present, and she’s been harnessing it in her depictions of movie scenes, animation, paintings, portraits of her clients’ loved ones, and even food. Yet, there’s still more to do. “I have developed a passion for exploring new designs that I hadn't attempted before,” she says.
As she continues living in the US, tattooing continues to be a source of solace for her. “Tattooing has become more than just a form of art—it's been a way to immerse myself in the community and culture, helping me establish a solid network both personally and professionally,” Eunmi says.
Through her tattooing, she has been able to form long-lasting relationships with people from different backgrounds who all share a love of art, and through that, she stays connected to the pure unbridled joy that only art can bring.