For foreigners in Korea getting a permanent piece of body art can be a bit of a daunting due to language barriers. Luckily, there are a number of artists in Seoul who can communicate with clients in English!
Dahlia | Dongmak-ro, Mapo-gu
Known for her talent in color tattoos and unique style, Dahlia is your foreigner-friendly go to tattoo artist in Seoul.
Dahlia asks her clients to describe the idea they have or send a reference photo, and she creates a new design from scratch fitting it to the client’s wish.
As one of our authors went there recently to get a tattoo, they told that the whole process was smooth and pleasent.
Dahlia communicated with them through instagram DM’s asking all the necessary questions, and was able to create a unique art that is truly one of a kind, capturing the vision just perfectly.
Seoul Ink | Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Seoul Ink is located in Gangnam and has been creating beautiful tattoos since 2007. They won the 10 Magazine Best of Seoul 2018 competition in the category of Best Tattoo Parlor.
Seoul Ink Tattoo Studio originally faced restrictions in Korean culture. The staff decided to go abroad for top call tattoo experience. Starting from tattoo conventions in California they traveled to Texas, Michigan, New York, Virginia, and many more to win multiple awards as well to participate as a judges.
Since their return in 2011, the studio was established in Sinsa, Gangnam, while still continuing its top class tattoo work. In order to provide high quality tattoo with more variety, the artists communicate with other great artists worldwide though guest artists partnership.
Greem Tattoo | Mapo-gu, Seoul
Greem is an artist located in the vicinity of Hongdae who focuses on simplistic blackwork tattoos. She focuses on sharp edges, with most of her designs taking a more blocky form with bold lines. While her English isn’t the best of this list, she is able to easily and effectively communicate all the necessary information to her clients.
Hongdam | Songpa-gu, Seou
If intricate designs are more your speed, Hongdam is your guy. He focuses on delicate line work in mostly shades of black. But, he also isn’t afraid to throw in some color. He sometimes takes his work on the road, traveling to various countries around the world to do guest work. With international experience like this, it’s no surprise that he’s gained quite the fluency in English, especially when it comes to communicating with his tattoo clients.
Ildo | Mapo-gu, Seoul
Ildo’s pieces are uniquely his and utilize intricate lines and shading. He’s known for his darker characters, most notably his skull-faced figures (like the one pictured above). He’s filled numerous guest artist spots in the UK, so he likely has no problem discussing designs with potential clients. When he’s in Seoul, he works out of the Hongdae-based studio Lucent.
Woo Loves You | Seoul, South Korea
Another popular artist to follow is Woo Hyun Heo, who works under the Instagram handle “Woo Loves You.” His style is portrayed in comedic characters and bold colors. Most of his designs are like optical illusions, as the characters are contorted to take the shape of hearts or skulls. Like his designs, but unsure about getting inked? He’s also branched out into pin-making, so you can grab one of his designs to wear.
Zihwa | Mapo-gu, Seoul
Known for her intricate flowers, Zihwa’s designs are the perfect mixture of intricacy and elegance. Her pieces are delicate, detailed, and rely on the subtle contrast between black ink and the skin. She hails from the Hongdae-based tattoo collective known as Reindeer Ink that houses a small group of experienced artists who can all communicate in English.
Sol Tattoo | Mapo-gu, Seoul
One of the most famous artists on our list with almost 450K followers on Instagram, Sol is another artist to go to if you want intricate linework. His focus is more on the cute and colorful and he’s become known for his animal designs. Sol provides booking information in both English and Korean, but you have to be quick! He tends to be booked months in advance.
Hugo | Mapo-gu, Seoul
Hugo lived in the U.S. for a number of years before making a name for himself in the Seoul tattooing scene. Since then he’s gained a huge following on Instagram because of his cute design aesthetic. His pieces apply bold line work and dotted shading to cutesy characters. One of the most well-travelled artists on this list, he’s done guest work at locations all across the globe.
Whether you don’t know any Korean or are just a bit rusty, there are many English Speaking Tattoo Artists In Seoul who can assist with getting some unique ink. With this list as a starting point, foreigners in Seoul who want tattoos can have confidence that they’ll be able to find an artist they can talk to.