The rescue mission of a South Korean lawmaker in Cambodia has turned into a fierce national debate, not over the mission’s success, but over a young man’s tattoos.
Earlier this month, Kim Byung-joo, a senior member of the Democratic Party, announced that she had helped repatriate three South Korean men who were trapped in a Cambodian crime complex. The men, in their 20s, were reportedly lured by fraudulent job offers and forced to work in online scam operations.
However, controversy erupted after Kim Byung-joo shared photos from the rescue mission, one of which showed a man’s entire body blurred due to extensive tattoos.
Right-wing politicians and online commentators quickly labeled the rescued man a gangster, comparing him to “Chorong”, a tattooed crime boss from the hit film. The collection 3.
Critics accused Kim Byung-joo of turning the rescue into political theater, while one opposition lawmaker sneered: “We asked you to save innocent Koreans, not tattooed gangsters.”
Another commented: “Why put on a rescue show for criminals?”
In response, Kim Byung-joo tearfully defended her actions, saying she was “inhumane and politically toxic” judging people by their appearance.
“Since when do tattoos make someone less worth saving?” he said. “When a prison catches fire, do you refuse to save the inmates? It’s the same logic.”
The incident reignited Korea’s long-standing cultural prejudice linking tattoos to crime. Reactions online have been deeply divided.
- Tattoos are science: you can tell who’s bad just by looking at them.
- The real victims should be saved first.
- Having tattoos does not make you a criminal.
- This is exactly why Korea still struggles with prejudice.
According to a 2023 Korea Research survey, 60% of respondents said they found tattoos “repugnant,” while 66% associated them with being “bad” or “scary.” Although tattoos have become mainstream – with around 13 million Koreans having one – the social stigma remains strong, especially among older generations.
Industry leaders say equating tattoos with criminality is outdated.
Im Bo-ran, president of the Korean Tattoo Artists Association, told Hankyung that the political use of the man’s appearance was “unfortunate.”
“Tattoos today represent art, memory and identity, from portraits of loved ones to drawings of pets,” he said. “Having tattoos all over your body doesn’t make you a gangster any more than wearing makeup makes you a bad person.”
He added that the legal recognition of the tattoo industry this year should help change social perceptions.
In September 2025, South Korea officially legalized non-medical tattooing under the new Tattoo Artist Act, allowing licensed professionals to operate legally for the first time. Previously, tattooing by non-doctors was punishable under the Medical Services Act since a 1992 Supreme Court ruling.
The controversy over Cambodia’s tattooed man has come to symbolize more than a masculine aspect: it reflects South Korea’s struggle between traditional moralism and modern individualism.
Sources: Hankyung,KBS,Nate News,Yonhap
