• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.63-79
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• 2022

This study investigated the phenomenon of modern people enjoying tattoo culture in Korea from the perspective of post subculture. A qualitative study was conducted using both literature review and in-depth interview methods. For post-subculture perspectives, the theories of Maffesoli (2017) and Thornton (1996), which are suitable for interpreting contemporary tattoo culture, were reviewed in terms of seven concepts: sporadic network, grouping, fluid participation, temporary emotional bond, self-distinction, pursuit of underground culture, and display and concealment. Semi-structured questionnaires were constructed and administered based on the organized characteristics. Five cultural qualities of the tattoo phenomenon in Korea were derived based on post-subculture concepts. Sporadic formation is related to the pattern of inflow into tattoo culture, and "streaming" participation is based on fluid participation and temporary ties. Distinction within subculture is based on self-distinction and pursuit of underground. The costume-playing ordinary concept includes the characteristic of controlling the exposure of tattoos in society. Finally, formation of the consumer tattoo market was newly discovered in Korean tattoo culture.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.379-385
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• 2021

Tattoo, which has been 5000 years' history is the symbol of the collective society. It was used as one of the methods not only to defense and camouflage but also to decorate themselves. In modern society, tattoo culture is either limited to ethnic minorities or be used as a decorative element of personal preference. Among them, the Chinese ethnic minority, the Dai, is still maintaining its tattoo culture, but gradually faded. Hence, the necessity of protecting the tattoo culture of the Dai is essential. The procedures and methods of this study were conducted by analyzing an antique book, explore residential areas, data research, and data collection through interviews. According to research, the tattoo culture of the Dai has been consistently passed down through traditional tattoo pictorial books, the memories of tattooists, and the stories of people who got tattoos. However, the Dai's traditional culture and customs are influenced by the China political reform between 1952 and 1956, confirming that the size of tattoo culture was reduced than before and evanesces. As a result, in order to inherit the ethnic minorities Dai's tattoo heritage, records of tattoo culture are required. Besides, it is considered that the records of tattoo culture and interpretations of tattoo culture by tattooists and the people who got a tattoo due to aging in the future should be studied.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.18-31
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• 2016

In response to increasing preference for tattoos during the 2000s, the demand for Japanesestyle tattoo fashion increased. Ukiyoe, the prototype of Japanese tattoo popular in the Edo period has been preserved traditional expression techniques to the present, It is characterized by the following: first, the tattoos share literary lyricism through plays borrowed from the classics. second, it displays harmony and equivocal expression of heterogeneous elements samurai and kabuki mono. third, humorous images are expressed in picture-in-picture form. And fourth, presence of fixed characters based on the publication culture. Tattoo fashion is characterized by the following: First, eclectic fashion based on pastiche; second, characters emphasizing fun and comicality; third, the adoption of tattoo models for establishing brand images; and fourth, Cultural association for the new composition of culture consumption. Pastiche, harmony of heterogeneous elements, fun and comicality, and fixed characters were found to be common between tattoo ukiyoe and tattoo fashion. That is, it attempted to meet the sensitive consumers' needs to keep up with the trends by adopting tattoo incorporated into the subculture of neo pop. This shows clearly the characteristics of fashion, which creates new trends through interacting with the contemporary culture.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.52-68
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to be inquired inner contemplation of the tattoo expressed in the modern costumes. For this study, related documentaries and pictures or photos were analyzed in terms of the theretical background for the history of tattoo, the relation between tattoo and the modern western costumes. The primary source of pictures or photos are Vogue, Collections, Collezioni, Harper\`s Bazaar, Modain, Model et Mode etc. The human\`s needs of body decoration had constantly pursued on the body and costumes from the first until lately. Especially in the recents, as the tattoo is implicated a dynamic and charming method of all kinds of body decoration, it\`s used a motive of modern western costumes. The original tattoo means a picture, word etc. that was put permanently onto their skin using a needle and coloring matter. But, these days tattoo is an expression of street style for something new in the subculture. The results were as a follows : The inner meaning of tattoo represented in the modern costumes was classified into two categories. First, the tattooing was a very important factor to complete fashion design through the history of modern costumes, and also the elaborate tattoo of the body was displayed unrestricted formativeness as the skinhead\`s tattoo, raceless\`s ambiguity of street style and artistic decoration, because that can be faded easily. Second, Tattoo Look was expressed as tattoo prints of the see-through, elastic textiles in the modern costumes. That is, the tattoo enhanced the effect of dramatic atmosphere other formative arts as well as the modern costumes by Tattoo Look. Similarity, Tattoo Look could be interpreted as the change of the aesthetic consciousness by the influence of the subculture. Accordingly, in the end of a this century, many experimental designers had applied tattoo to modern costumes. So this study will stand as an important clue to foresee the future costume\`s style and change.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.485-502
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• 2018

In this research, we conducted an empirical study using the theory of sociologist Jean Baudrillard to examine the phenomenon of contemporary people in Korea acquiring tattoos. The researcher classified the consumption behavior of modern society, as described by Baudrillard in The Consumer Society, into three keyword phrases: consumption by personal taste, coded consumption, and recyclage of consumption. Using this as the premise of the study, 18 men and women in their 20s and 30s completed questionnaires and interviews, and the results supported labeling tattoo consumption as consumption by personal taste, tattoos as coded consumption, and recyclage of tattoo consumption, similar to the consumption pattern that Baudrillard sees. First, the younger generations have consumed tattoos according to their personal preferences. They express themselves by tattooing for self-complacency, self-marking, pursuing individuality, overcoming the appearance complex, and seeking pleasure. Second, they have consumed socially coded tattoos. They say that tattoos domestically act as negative codes and symbolize individuals. Although tattoos are a symbol of artists who are relatively free from social norms, they are still a symbol of social misfits created as such by negative perceptions. Third, the pattern of tattoo consumption is like that of contemporary consumption. Tattoos already have become part of popular culture in Korea, and there has been a changing trend in tattoo culture. This study has significance in that tattoos were regarded as a consumption behavior that deviated, from the perspective of deviance. That phenomenon of today's tattoo culture of today was confirmed through the empirical study.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.348-354
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• 2023

A tattoo is a cultural form that has been handed down to mankind for a long time. Traditional tattoo customs that have been handed down and developed in the various cultures of mankind have the important value of academic research in various fields such as history, art, society, etc. The Derung people, one of the minorities living in Yunnan Province and nearby areas in the southwest of China, have 'facial tattoo' customs. The traditional culture of the Derung people, which had maintained the form of primitive society until 1949 when the People's Republic of China was established, was passed down through oral tradition, so there are no preserved materials about their tattoo culture, showing the need for research on the culture. Therefore, it was conducted in two ways: a research on modern and contemporary literature and a field trip to Yunnan Province. The exact reason and time of facial tattoo customs are unknown, but the customs disappeared after being banned in 1966 due to the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The symbols and functions of facial tattoos can be largely divided into four categories, including religious worship, coming-of-age ceremonies, aesthetic decorations, and ethnic and social history, through an on-site survey and research by modern and contemporary scholars. And, it is known that women of the Derung People get tattoos from the age of 7 to 8. The design of facial tattoos became more complicated for upper-class women and simpler for lower-class women depending on the area they live. Tattoos are mainly performed by relatives, and mainly bamboo skewers and lixivium extracted from the bottom of the pot are used as the materials. Currently, there are fewer than 25 women of the Derung people with facial tattoos, and most of them are elderly. Therefore, they seem to disappear altogether within a few decades. Therefore, it is urgent to have documentation on the unique facial tattoo culture of the Derung people.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.11-23
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• 2007

This study has investigated the stream of consciousness and the actual conditions of tattoo. A survey of 466 people has found that female prefer tattoo, and a group of age between 21 and 41 and professionals are more interested in it. Both past and present of attitude consciousness about tattoo understand it dynamic and severe. However, it is considered as a feminine these days, whereas it had been understood as a masculine image in the past, which means a decrease of symbolism by gender. Also, in comparison with the past, the current thoughts on tattoo are getting hopeful and affirmative that we could know the attitude about tattoo changes. A survey of 106 tattooists shows that most people get a temporary tattoo, and permanent, semi-permanent tattoo came next. The most preferred area were eyebrows, are, shoulder, forearm, back of hand and waist, and a main reason of getting tattoo were for beauty and ostentation. For the level of satisfaction, 70.7% of the people polled said they were satisfied with it, and male preferred a pattern of animal, geometric and plant while female preferred a pattern of plant, animal, and geometric in order. So far, by the lack of basic information and data, efficiency value of tattoo is in negative view. Thus, it would be required to enhance a level of understanding tattoo focusing on the positive side like a new life style, sense of value, sensation and emotion of contemporary people, and generalize it by providing various technical information and knowledge of beauty image effect accompanied with tattoo.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.153-169
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• 2003

I think that apparel attaches importance to the degree of satisfaction of visual expression in one ornamental culture in which it is clothed on human body. whereas a tattoo attaches more importance to part of the expression of one's own identity in the same context. However. modern tattooing act was highlighted only as an element of act which was negative in the purpose and the degree of taste or which assumed the grotesque meaning of a particular group. away from pure concepts such as simple ornament or an amulet according to the flow of the world. A tattoo is gradually being seen as one of avant-garde methods of art again these days, and TATTOO LOOK is being popularized as street fashion as an effective method of one's own satisfied desires and peculiar expression of personality. I have got the following conclusions as the result of having studied on a tattoo which is establishing itself as another plastic art that is matchable with the fashion of dress and its ornaments in which human incessant instinctive desire for the ornament of body has been beyond nostalgia for the past and simple ornament which were pure in up-to-date modern society First, a tattoo is of personality. In that it solidifies one's own personality of another side by being transformed, one's own attraction can be transferred to a fashion tattoo with which one can emit one's own personality. Secondly. a tattoo is fashion. As a new body ornament called transformation by a tattoo was emerging, the fashionableness owned by a tattoo had in its area ample room for the fashionableness with which it can coexist with the culture of dress and its ornaments. Thirdly. a tattoo is popularized. TATTOO LOOK in which one's own satisfied desires and the expression of personality are properly applied is being recently transmitted easily everywhere in the world and popularized as street fashion. Fourthly, a tattoo is not depraved art. It's because of the point that a tattoo which had been recognized only as a decadent expression in which avant-garde elements of unknown nationality appeared mixed showed the possibility that it could establish itself as fashion art. If we go on studying and complementing the problems of individual sides about a tattoo also in the future, the infinite fashionableness for the elements called personality. sense and emotion owned by a tattoo suggested ample possibility as future industry to be highlighted.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.89-102
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• 2010

Atayal studied in this paper is one of the indigenous tribe in Taiwan, which is receiving considerable publicity gradually. Atayal has a quite unique traditional dress and custom as facial tattoo. The study was limited to the conventional culture of body adornment of the Atayal including the clothing which is less preserved and practicing by them at the present day, and the origin and the process of the historical development of those are just a little included in the scope of the present study. Through this study, we can get know about indigenous tribe's cultural background, such as their life, custom, religion, and the influences on traditional costumes. As for the research method, I examined the Atayal's traditional costumes and clothing through related books, magazine, research papers, internet sites, and etc. I also examined the common ground between facial tattoo patterns and their clothing using reference books and official web-site. Traditional clothing materials, basic forms of dress, and the pattern and technique of facial tattoo were examined in the present study in order to deepen the appreciation of the cultural heritage of the Atayal. In way, I hope this study will make a contribution to the field of Korean fashion industry which intends to enter Taiwan market.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.1257-1267
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• 2020

This study was conducted to analyze the differences in negative health behavior, mental health, and self-esteem between tattooed and non-tattooed college students. The subjects of this study were 214 four-year college students located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Cronbach's α, crossover analysis, and t-test were conducted using the 25.0 version of the SPSS statistical package. As a result of the study, there was no significant difference in negative health behavior, mental health, and self-esteem between the two groups according to the presence of tattoos. Therefore, it can be said that it has a meaning as a positive aspect of research contrary to previous studies that report negative properties of tattoo. This study is expected to be used as basic data in establishing tattoo culture suitable for the times by reflecting and activating tattoos as a cultural phenomenon in the future.