原文标题：South Korean tattooistsArt in the darkKorean tattoo artists are lauded abroad and locked up at home韩国纹身师黑暗中的艺术韩国纹身师在国外广受赞誉，在国内却面临监禁

Why South Korean tattooists are being marked as criminals为什么韩国纹身师不合法？

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THE UNMARKED grey door in central Seoul could lead to just another office in South Korea’s capital.

首尔市中心有一扇没有标签的灰色大门，可能只是通往韩国首都的另一间工作室。

Yet behind it Kim Do-yoon creates intricate artwork that has garnered commissions from K-pop stars, chaebol bosses and Hollywood royalty, including Brad Pitt.

然而，在这扇门的后面，金道允创作了精美复杂的艺术作品，并获得了韩国流行音乐明星、财阀老板和好莱坞大腕（如布拉德-皮特）等客户的青睐。

Better known as Doy, the tattooist is careful not to advertise the presence of his studio. For each of his artworks is also a crime.这位纹身师“多伊”的名字更有名，他小心翼翼尽量不宣传他的工作室。因为他的每件作品也代表一种犯罪活动。

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Worth some 200bn won ($151m) a year according to the Korea Tattoo Association (KTA), South Korea’s tattoo industry is small but culturally significant.

根据韩国纹身协会的数据，韩国的纹身行业每年价值约2000亿韩元（1.51亿美元），行业规模虽小，但文化意义重大。

Spring brings blooms of colour as short sleeves and skimpy tops reveal the inked-up arms of the country’s hipsters.

春天是五颜六色的季节，嬉皮士们开始露出纹满图案的胳膊，短袖和暴露的衣服让他们的纹身更加醒目。

Outside South Korea, the reputation of its artists has grown alongside the taste for the country’s other cultural exports.

在国外，随着韩国文化的流行，其艺术家的声誉也与日俱增。

A tattoo from a South Korean artist confers a similar level of cool as a taste for South Korean music or cinema. 韩国艺术家的纹身作品，就像拥有韩国音乐或电影的品味一样，会赋予人们同等的炫酷时尚感。

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Yet its artists are forced to work underground.

然而，韩国纹身师们却被迫从事地下工作。

In 1992 a South Korean court ruled that tattooing creates health risks and ought to require a medical licence.

1992年，韩国法院裁定，纹身会造成健康风险，应该要求有医疗执照。

Tattooists without that qualification can receive a fine of 50m won ($38,000) or up to five years in prison.

没有执照的纹身师可能会面临5000万韩元（3.8万美元）的罚款，或面临最高5年的监禁。

Doy reckons a couple are locked up every year.

多伊估计，每年都有一两个从业者被监禁。

The ban also means that tattooists are vulnerable to blackmail, exploitation or sexual assault because they cannot report perpetrators for fear of incrimination. 这项禁令还意味着纹身师很容易受到勒索、剥削或性侵犯，由于害怕自己被定罪，因此面对肇事者他们也不会报案。

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Young politicians have tried to drag the industry into the mainstream.

年轻的政治家们试图将这个行业拉入主流。

Ryu Ho-jeong, a 30-year-old MP, introduced a bill in 2021 that would improve working conditions and allow tattooists to report their income.

30岁的国会议员柳浩珍在2021年提出了一项法案，该法案将改善纹身师的工作条件，并允许他们报告收入。

Doy has taken a more aggressive approach, frequently appearing in court for the past four years to appeal a conviction and draw attention to the plight of less famous colleagues.多伊采取了更激进的办法，在过去4年中频繁出庭上诉，并通过此举引起人们对于那些不知名同行所处困境的关注。

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South Korean society is increasingly siding with Doy and Ms Ryu.

韩国社会有越来越多的人站出来支持多伊和柳女士。

The elderly still disapprove of tattoos, considering them signs of criminality.

老年人仍然不赞成纹身，认为它们是犯罪的标志。

Yet over half of South Koreans as a whole and more than four-fifths of those in their 20s believe qualified tattooists should be allowed to ink up customers.

然而，一半以上的韩国人，以及4/5以上的20多岁韩国人认为，应该允许合格的纹身师为顾客纹身。

Far from “a deviant act”, for young people a tattoo is just another consumer product, says Ha Ji-soo of Seoul National University. 首尔国立大学的河智秀说，对年轻人来说，纹身远非 "越轨行为"，它只是另一种消费品。

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Unsurprisingly, the tattooists’ main adversaries are doctors, who claim it is risky to let non-doctors tattoo.

毫不奇怪，纹身师的主要反对者是医生，他们声称让非医务人员从事纹身是有风险的。

They stand to lose a lucrative sideline: in 2022 the market for semi-permanent tattoos, used mostly for cosmetic procedures, was worth as much as 1.8trn won ($1.4bn), reckons the KTA. 主要原因是他们将失去利润丰厚的副业：据韩国纹身协会估计，2022年，主要用于美容手术的半永久性纹身市场价值高达18万韩元（14亿美元）。

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The South Korean government, usually keen to promote its culture, has so far been hesitant to upset this powerful lobby.

韩国政府通常热衷于推动文化输出，但它一直犹豫不决，不想得罪这个强大的游说团体。

Yet that may be changing: apparently aware of tattooists as a potential source of revenue, the government has already assigned them a tax code.然而，这种情况可能正在发生改变：政府显然意识到纹身师是一个潜在的收入来源，且已为他们指定了一个税号。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量503左右）原文出自：2023年5月13日《The Economist》Asia版块

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）因“纹身的墨水和针头可能引发感染”，1992年韩国最高法院把纹身定义成一种医疗行为。而韩国卫生和福利部则认为纹身与针灸同源，必须由医疗专业人员进行。按照韩国法律规定，纹身师从业需要医疗执照，否则将面临“最高5年有期徒刑或最高5000万韩元的罚款”。为了尽可能在警察眼皮子底下“隐身”，韩国的纹身工作室往往开在不起眼的地方，通常是地下，没有店招，找入口就像玩密室逃脱。

【重点句子】（3个）Spring brings blooms of colour as short sleeves and skimpy tops reveal the inked-up arms of the country’s hipsters.春天是五颜六色的季节，嬉皮士们开始露出纹满图案的胳膊，短袖和暴露的衣服让他们的纹身更加醒目。

Far from “a deviant act”, for young people a tattoo is just another consumer product, says Ha Ji-soo of Seoul National University. 首尔国立大学的河智秀说，对年轻人来说，纹身远非 "越轨行为"，它只是另一种消费品。

Unsurprisingly, the tattooists’ main adversaries are doctors, who claim it is risky to let non-doctors tattoo.毫不奇怪，纹身师的主要反对者是医生，他们声称让非医务人员从事纹身是有风险的。