South Korea's government is surveying tattoo shops and tattoo artists nationwide to determine how many there are, a year before a new law governing the trade takes effect in October 2027. The survey is intended to prepare for a national licensing exam and to set hygiene and safety standards, including rules on disposing of waste generated during procedures.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 22nd that it will conduct a one-month online survey of tattoo businesses nationwide through Nov. 22. The Tattooist Act, promulgated in October last year, takes effect Oct. 29, 2027. The ministry said it will use the results as baseline data for building a licensing and training system and for drafting related policy.
The survey covers owners of tattoo businesses as well as freelance tattoo artists not affiliated with a particular shop. Where a business premises exists, the owner needs to respond only once. The Korea Management Association is carrying out the survey, which takes about three minutes to complete.
Questions cover when the business opened, its registered business category, the types of procedures offered, the number of workers, the monthly average number of procedures and the time required for a single session. The survey also asks about the volume of materials used in tattooing and the amount of waste generated.
Based on the results, the ministry plans to estimate how many people are likely to sit for the national licensing exam and how many will be subject to mandatory hygiene training, and to calculate the associated costs. The findings will also be used to devise appropriate methods for handling waste produced during procedures.
The survey can be accessed through a notice window posted on the ministry's website or through an online survey link. The ministry said it will also encourage participation through local governments and industry associations and groups.
"This survey is a first step toward determining the scale of tattoo businesses and artists in Korea and establishing the institutional groundwork needed to implement the Tattooist Act," said Kim Han-sook, director general of the ministry's Health Policy Bureau. "We ask for active participation so that the system can be designed sensibly, fully reflecting conditions and views on the ground."