If You're Not a Doctor, Tattoos Are Illegal
"A man who dominated an era... Fascinating. So, what kind of treatment did this man receive?"
"He was strong to begin with, but he transformed into an even more powerful figure by etching a design onto his face. Through a tattoo."
"A tattoo?"
The legendary heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. Despite his overwhelming strength, he was no stranger to scandals and ended up behind bars. When he emerged from prison, he shocked the world by revealing a tattoo on the left side of his face.
"It's the process of piercing the skin with needles to inject pigment, creating letters, pictures, or patterns. And those designs can hold personal meaning."
"Ho, meaning! How intriguing. So this boxer fellow etched a picture onto his face?"
Tolstoy Lancaster's eyes sparkled with interest, and I gave a slight nod.
"That's right. The boxer's name is Mike. Mike had a design from the famous Maori warrior tribe inked onto the left side of his face. The Maori warriors were known for their immense strength and massive builds, but they used facial tattoos to instill fear and intimidation in enemy tribes."
Every time I mentioned threat and fear, Tolstoy's eyes lit up brighter.
"Fascinating, truly fascinating. You're nothing like the doctors I know. Not just cutting off heads or treating wounds—they even do tattoos as treatment."
"Even where I come from, places where doctors did tattoos were pretty rare."
"Rare? Is it some incredibly difficult procedure?"
"It's not about the technical difficulty. In my region, anyone but a doctor doing tattoos was considered illegal."
In Korea, there are an estimated 20,000 tattoo artists. But including me, only about ten can operate legally.
'Because if you're not a doctor, doing tattoos is straight-up illegal.'
Unlike most countries around the world, Korea classifies tattoos as a medical procedure, so only licensed physicians can perform them. Even nurses or nursing assistants doing it is automatically illegal.
'Even eyebrow tattoos—if it's not a doctor, it's all illegal.'
You don't even need to turn on the TV; just head to any local bus stop, and you'll see posters of celebrities covered in arm and neck tattoos. Of course, getting a tattoo or eyebrow ink in Korea isn't illegal for the recipient. And tattoo artists doing self-tattoos on their own bodies isn't punishable since it's considered self-harm.
But inking someone else's eyebrows, arms, or legs without a medical license is strictly illegal in Korea.
"Illegal? Does it threaten lives?"
"Well... If it's done in a properly sterile environment and aftercare is followed, the risk to life is extremely low."
Tattooing involves thin needles loaded with ink piercing the epidermis and depositing pigment into the dermis. You're essentially wounding the skin and injecting color into the wound—so if you hit the beach before it heals, you could die from Vibrio septicemia. It's a real case that happened.
"Excellent. Then I want one of these tattoos. What's next?"
Normally, I'd hit him with upfront payment and how much it'll cost.
"I'll start the consultation right away. Let's head upstairs."
"Very well."
But I know when to push and when to back off. Money wouldn't be an issue for the ruler of the North Continent.
'Just knock one out quick for the Northern Duke and send him packing.'
Tolstoy Lancaster, Walter, and I moved to the director's office on the 11th floor. I asked Walter to have Stella reschedule today's patients first—priority. Even if it cost us some trust, dodging an unstoppable force of nature was the smart play.
"Let's begin the proper consultation. First, Your Grace, please tell me the body part for the tattoo, as well as the design type and size."
"I don't know about type or size yet. But the spot—face."
"Pardon?"
"On the face, I said. You're not going to tell me it's impossible now, are you?"
Damn it. Using Mike Tyson as an example was a mistake.
"It's not impossible... but the face, unlike the torso or limbs, is constantly exposed to sunlight. That means the colors fade over time. Here's an example."
I pulled up photos on the monitor of patients who'd come for tattoo laser removal.
"The first photo is a tattoo ten years old. The second is twenty-five years. Of course, the tools and dyes back then were very different from now, but no matter what pigment you inject, fading is inevitable. And on the face, it happens even faster."
"Hmm..."
Tattoo fading happens in various ways. Inject too deep, and what should be black takes on a bluish tint—like when people say it's "blown out." When colors spread like that, after the skin heals, the ink in the dermis fades quicker. Even without UV exposure, it fades over time.
'Macrophages in the immune system gradually absorb and disperse the ink in the dermis. But... no point explaining—he wouldn't get it.'
Tattooing demands extreme care. Human skin is a single canvas. Ruin the artwork on it, and it's irreversible.
'Plus, a tattoo that looks great at first might discolor later, or you might just get sick of it.'
It's only natural. Even clothes—we change colors and styles by season, and after a few years, trendy pieces gather dust because fashion moves on. Expecting to love one design forever is tough.
"Fading a bit doesn't matter—as long as it doesn't vanish completely. Face it is, then. Now just the design and size?"
"...Yes."
In Korea, tattoos can even bar you from becoming a police officer. During physicals, if they deem the tattoo's motive, meaning, or size damaging to police honor, you're out.
'But things are different here. If a king wants to do whatever to his face, who cares? He's not job-hunting in Korea.'
The Northern Duke Tolstoy Lancaster was a brutal, dangerous beast. But as I first sensed, someone meeting him might underestimate him, unaware he's a ticking bomb.
Tattooing his face didn't thrill me, but if it could save lives from petty squabbles with him...
'Better to indulge one and save many.'
And boosting his ego with a tattoo? Letting him have it on the face as he wants seems right.
Who am I to stop him if he insists?
"What design, then? Choose carefully—once inked, it's forever."
"Hmm, what to pick..."
Of course, lasers can remove tattoos, but I didn't mention it to Tolstoy. Tattooing is mostly one-and-done; removal takes multiple sessions.
'Can't give him an escape hatch. Need his face permanently marked so everyone knows he's dangerous.'
"Winter Serpent for the design. It's Lancaster Duchy symbol. Hold on."
Swoosh—Tolstoy pulled a gleaming silver shield from his subspace pouch. Inside, like a Porsche emblem, coiled a pure white serpent dynamically— with multiple heads.
"Never seen a snake like that. Five heads... Is that normal?"
"It's the sacred beast and guardian deity of Lancaster Duchy alone. Looks hideous, but it never harms our people. Merciless to enemies, though. The Winter Serpent glides over snow, even through it, striking vital spots. Adorable little thing."
"..."
One head's repulsive enough—five? Looking at this Winter Serpent made even Res, another reptile, seem cute.
"Understood. But white won't show on skin. How about all black?"
"Hmm, true? Shame. But could the eyes be red, like the Winter Serpent's?"
"I don't use colors besides black—they're harmful to the skin."
"Fair enough. Black it is."
I'm a doctor, but I actively support non-medical professionals doing tattoos. One reason: leaving it in a legal gray zone risks worse disasters anytime.
Every summer, crowds flock for tattoos, oblivious to the toxins in the pigments. Even me and Korea's other nine doctor-tattooists don't know everything.
Korea's tattoo scene is a total regulatory black hole. Without a doctor's license, importing ink or needles is illegal.
Tattoo inks fall under 'household chemicals' like fragrances or detergents, requiring import certification. Over 99% sold in Korea skip that.
'Especially colored inks like the red he mentioned—heavy metals way over limits.'
Like arsenic in bright paints historically—reds, yellows, blues, purples often exceed limits by 300 times or more.
But no one tells you at the parlor. Why? They don't know either.
'They don't even manage expiration dates or storage temps—how could they know heavy metal levels or skin reactions?'
Most smuggled inks in Korea are big U.S. brands. Why? Vivid colors. But in Europe, where non-doctors do tattoos legally, those inks are banned—heavy metals.
'I was shocked when I tested them. Unfit for human bodies.'
Shampoos get pulled for high metals—yet tattoo inks, permanent skin invaders, linger unregulated. Absurd.
No matter how scary Northern Duke Tolstoy was, I couldn't use unverified dyes. Principle.
"Then, let's proceed with the design."
I'll use the safest verified pigments, making it as fearsome and grotesque as he wants.