6 idols who overcome prejudices and fall into the world of tatoos (ft. Jungkook, Chaeyoung, and more)

As perceptions of tattoos change, many stars, including BTS Jungkook and TWICE’s Chaeyoung, are also openly revealing their love for tatoos. 

“Tattoo” is where you engrave pictures or letters by dyeing your skin. Once engraved, it cannot be easily erased without a special procedure. People used to have a strong perception of tatoo being “non-mainstream” due to negative views toward the procedure itself. However, tatoos are now used as a means of revealing individuality regardless of age or gender.

The society’s opinion which respects individual personality had a decisive effect on improving tattoo awareness. In fact, in recent years, many people have boldly revealed their own identity by engraving tattoos with various meanings on their bodies.

As perceptions of tattoos change, stars are also openly revealing their love for tatoos. Idol stars with tatoos, who used to be taboo in the past, are no exception. Let’s look at stars who have fashionable and meaningful tattoos with messages or pictures that show their beliefs or tastes.

▲ BTS’s Jungkook

Jungkook, the youngest member of the world-class group BTS, who will capture the hearts of global fans, is a representative star who has completed his unexpected charm through tattoos.

Jungkook’s right arm and right hand are filled with phrases and pictures with various meanings. Jungkook first had tattoos on the back of his hand. The idol has done various changes to his body over time until early this year, and has now expanded the tatoos to his arm. It is a rather unconventional move for a member of a top idol group, but Jungkook drew fans’ support by putting deep meanings in his tattoos.

The most eye-catching is ARMY, the official fan club name of BTS, on the back of Jungkook’s hand. On top of that, Jungkook added a purple heart, representing the word “Borahae,” which BTS’s members and fandom use to mean “trust and love until the end,” expressing his affection for the team and fans. In addition, the official logo of ARMY and the debut date of BTS 0613 were engraved on Jungkook’s hand.

Inside his arm, his beliefs were also engraved. Jungkook listed phrases meaningful to him, focusing on his motto “MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUNSHINES” and another phrase “RATHER BEAD THAN COOL,” which he mentioned on various broadcasts since his debut.

Tattoos with a variety of meanings, from the mic and red-eyed painting to BTS’s album title “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever” and phrases containing their narratives, and paintings resembling hand poses at the ending of “Boy With Luv,” decorated Jungkook’s arm.

In addition, Jungkook, who was born in September, also has a tatoo of his birth flower, tiger flower, and its meaning, “PLEASE LOVE ME.” Earlier, Jungkook expressed his affection by referring to his birth flower and meaning when he appeared in BTS’s own show “Run BTS,” drawing attention to his intention to add personality to his identity.

▲ Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation

Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation is also a famous tattoo lover. Taeyeon loves mini tattoos or letterings with her own meanings, so she has had cute tattoos in various areas.

Among Taeyeon’s tattoos, “fish” paintings are often noticeable. Born on March 9, 1989, Taeyeon, a Pisces, expressed her affection for herself by engraving small fish paintings on the back and the middle of her left ear.

Taeyeon, who is active as a solo artist as well as a member of Girls’ Generation, also tattooed pride and affection for her solo career directly into her body. Her thumb has his first solo debut title song “I,” next to the middle finger is the letter “F.” from her first solo full-length album title “Fine,” and on her wrist “WHY,” her second solo mini-album’s title track.

In addition, Taeyeon also expressed her belief in life by engraving the word “Purpose” on the back of her neck, “Cool” at the end of her shoulders, and “Serenity” on her elbow.

Among them, the meaning contained in Taeyeon’s neck tattoo “Purpose,” which was done in 2017, was also mentioned in a conversation with the cast members when she appeared in JTBC’s “Begin Again Season 3” in 2019. At that time, Taeyeon drew attention by delivering her innermost thoughts, “I didn’t want to live meaninglessly, so I engraved this tattoo.” The word “Serenity,” which means “silence, tranquility,” is also known to have been engraved to show Taeyeon’s personality.

▲ TWICE’s Chaeyoung

Chaeyoung, who also cited tattoos as “what she wants to do as soon as she becomes an adult,” has built her own identity through various tattoos since she actually became an adult.

Chaeyoung’s representative tattoo is a lip-shaped wrist tattoo that stands out with an intense color, which is believed to be TWICE’s official color.

Many of Chaeyoung’s tattoos have a strong and cute feeling. She has cute and hip tattoos with unique paintings such as an arrow through the heart, various types of flowers, tomatoes and carrots.

Chaeyoung, known as a famous tattoo “maniac” among fans, is also having large tattoos in addition to mini tattoos. She is known to have engraved artistic painting tattoos on her lower elbow, left forearm, and middle back. The tattoos have not been publicly introduced by Chaeyoung at the moment, but they are often captured on stage, raising fans’ curiosity.

▲ MAMAMOO Hwasa

Hwasa, who is well-known for her girl crush vibe, highlighted her charm even more with various lettering tattoos.

Among them, the most prominent ones are the friendship tattoos she got with Wee In, a member of her group and also a close friend since middle school. Hwasa expressed her extraordinary affection for her friend by engraving “caddo”, an Indian word for “friend”, next to her neckline and “Gongmyeong (Resonance)” behind her ankle as friendship tattoos with Whee In.

In addition to the friendship tattoos, Hwasa added a sharper and more captivating atmosphere by tattooing meaningful letters, such as her baptismal name “Maria” and “Paradise is where you are” on the back of her neck and inside her right arm, respectively. 

▲ Block B Zico

As an artist who loves hip-hop, Zico, who is not only known as a member of the boy group Block B but also a talented rapper and a “hitmaker” producer, showed his beliefs through various tattoos.

Zico’s most famous tattoo was the portrait of his mother engraved on his heart. In several interviews, Zico explained, “To me, my mother, who has been responsible for my family ever since I was a kid, is a hero”, showing his extraordinary love for his mother by engraving her face on his heart.

A tattoo of the Hibiscus syriacus, also known as the Korean rose, is placed on his one arm together with an image of King Sejong, who Zico respects the most. Zico, known to be a Catholic, engraved a tattoo of his religious belief on his other arm. He also chose the painting “Saint Veronica” by Italian painter Guido Reni as his tattoo material.

In addition, he didn’t forget to express his love for fans. Zico showed his affection for fans, the driving force of his music life, by engraving “131013”, the date when Block B received their first No.1 on a music show, along with a “honey bee”, which symbolizes Block B’s fandom, on the right side of his ribs. What also caught the eyes of many people is the logo tattoo contained the jacket photo of Deux. Zico, who revealed that he was a fan of the late artist Kim Sung-jae, expressed his admiration by engraving on his arm the logo of Deux, which appeared in Deux’s album “Rhythm Light Beat Black” released in 1994.

Moreover, Zico also showed his identity by tattooing the ribbon to commemorate the Sawol Ferry disaster, his baptismal name, and the Bible directly on his body to emphasize his firm beliefs.

▲ WINNER Song Min-ho

Like Zico, WINNER Song Min-ho also showed his belief in life through various tattoos.

Among Song Min-ho’s tattoos, the most noticeable one is the unique Korean phrase that said “right posture, clear mind”. This tattoo, written in a style that is easy to read, is the new one that Song Min-ho added in 2019. It seems to contain his belief since he mentioned the phrase “right posture, clear mind”, saying that it was his motto, at various events before.

The tattooist who engraved the tattoos for him said, “It can be interpreted as a reminder for him to live and always have a clear mind in confusion and sensitive situations. The phrase was styled with the GungsuhChe font as he wanted“, adding, “Isn’t the GungsuhChe font means ‘I’m taking this seriously’? This phrase makes me feel proud of and think he’s a real artist”.

In addition, Song Min-ho, who is known to be a Protestant, expressed his beliefs through Bible verses. The meaningful tattoo was completed with a blue rose image and lettering “BE NICE”, “BE KIND” engraved on both his shoulders