Through interviews with 18 tastemakers, Bae examines the decades of change that helped create k-style and some of the reasons it captures the global imagination. “That kind of brave attitude and creativity is something I think people in South America, South Africa or Europe can recognize.” “The fact that performing tattoo arts without a medical license was illegal in Korea actually spurred his creativity and he came up with something totally new,” said Bae. Despite these challenges Doy transformed the tattoo world and gained global recognition. Tattoo artists in Korea face fines, even prison time, if reported, so many work underground. “So that’s why he really delved into a new style of tattoo, which is very, very delicate and beautiful, which now dominates the world’s style of tattoo and is being called Korean style tattoo.” “When he started 18 years ago, he didn’t want to have gangsters coming to his studio to get tattoos because he didn't want to worry his wife or his mother,” she said. When Doy first began working at his craft most Koreans still associated tattoos with gangsters. We were trying to capture the moment and time or what is happening, but we felt that the underlying attitude will have a long life.”īae interviewed tattoo artist Doy for the book and really admired his courage. “This will change, fashions change, but underneath that, I think people can see the dynamic and their very bold attitudes. “In our book, which is very visual, you look at these kids and how they dress,” said Bae. His pictures capture the look of k-style but also the spirit. The photos were taken by less_ Taekyun Kim, a fashion photographer who shoots covers for Vogue and GQ, as well as album covers for k-pop groups such as Super Junior. K-style is an attitude that’s captured in the inventive photographs that illustrate Bae’s book. You can post your own work on YouTube and the global audience is in front of you.” DPR posted their work and, indeed, the big entertainment companies came calling. They told me that now if you’re talented you don’t need a TV audition. They're all Koreans, but they grew up in Australia, Guam and New York. “It was a group of young friends with different backgrounds. “DPR is a music collective formed because they didn't like how the music industry works in Korea with these huge entertainment labels,” said Bae. She cites the example of Dream Perfect Regime: DPR, a multi-genre music collective. Technology also makes it easier for Korean creatives to branch out on their own without the support of major corporations. Author Fiona Bae is a communications consultant.
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