Mixed Korean Tattoo Project

Okay, so we’ve been thinking about this for some time and finally want to get this started. We want to start a showcase/feature section of mixed Koreans and their Korean-themed tattoos.

The reason we want to showcase our Korean-themed tattoos is because we believe many of us get the tattoos to show our pride in Korean heritage, whether it is just your Korean name or some detailed piece of Korean artwork. Being that we are of mixed backgrounds, we take pride in our cultures and it plays a large part of who we are as individuals. Also, we think it’d be kind of cool to have an online spot to look at what others have tattooed. It could also give people ideas regarding Korean tattoos if they are considering getting one themselves.

Why Korean tattoos specifically? Well, Asian tattoos have been popular for a some time but most of the artwork and lettering is usually Japanese or Chinese. There has not been a lot of focus on Korean artwork and lettering. Hopefully that is changing with leading artists such as Phillip Spearman, whom are pushing Korean artwork and design in the tattoo world. For more info on Phillip Spearman and Inkworks Tattoo, check out our interview with him earlier this year.

There are many notable mixed Koreans who have Korean tattoos including pro football player Hines Ward, R&B singer Amerie, MMA fighter Denis Kang, current WEC (MMA) Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson, model Lisa Kim Fleming and pro basketball player Tony Akins (전태풍), to name a few.

It is curious to note that if Korean culture continues to rise in popularity, will we see more non-Koreans with Korean tattoos? The only prominent non-Korean that comes to mind with a Korean tattoo is pro baseball player Prince Fielder. He has 왕자 (wangja or in English “prince”) tattooed on his neck.

We ask that you e-mail a picture of your tattoo along with a short description. Please see the details below on what to include and guidelines regarding the project.

Mixed Korean Tattoo Project

Please include with the picture:
1) Your name along with some basic info (such as age, location, occupation and your ethnic “mix”)
2) What your tattoo is (if it is not clear by the image alone)
3) When you got the tattoo
4) Where you got the tattoo (tattoo artist/shop name or location)
5) Why you got the tattoo (such as what it signifies to you).

Guidelines for pictures:
1) No nude/explicit photos. The tattoo has to be in a reasonable location on the body. We have to keep this site child friendly!
2) No gang-related, racist, or derogatory tattoos.
3) The picture must come directly from the person who has the tattoo. We will not accept images from anyone else.
4) Please keep the tattoo pictures submitted Korean-themed. If it is something that signifies all of your cultures we can consider that as well. We may allow some Asian-themed ones as well but we want to primarily focus on our Korean culture.
5) The picture file should be at least 300 pixels wide and 400 pixels tall. Please keep the file size under 1MB. Also, make sure the picture is clear and not blurry (obviously).

Privacy Policy:
We’re keeping this one simple. By submitting your picture to HalfKorean.com, you agree to release us from any legal liabilities due to your image and information being available online. We will never release personal contact information.

If you ever want to remove your picture, please contact us and we will take the picture off the site as soon as possible (usually within 24 hours).

HalfKorean.com reserves the right to determine which pictures will be posted.

And, that is it. Once we start to receive submissions we’ll post this under the “Features” section of the site.

We look forward to seeing everyone’s tattoos!