The Korean tattoo artist opened a shop in Seoul when tattooing was still classed as medicine, and nobody came. Eighteen years, a Montblanc film and 180,000 followers later, he has opened MUNSHINE STUDIO in Singapore.
When Nando opened his first tattoo shop in Seoul, nobody came. “For about three years after I opened, there were no clients,” he told the Korean paper eToday in 2017. “Until then I couldn’t even tell my parents I did tattoos.” By the time that interview ran, 180,000 people were following his work.
Nando is a tattoo artist who works in fine line, soft black and grey realism, and portraits of people and pets. Born in 1987 in Hapcheon, a farming area in South Korea’s Gyeongnam province, he has now tattooed for about 18 years. He has since made Singapore his base, where he runs his own studio, MUNSHINE STUDIO.
01 — The startA painter who found tattoos in Madrid
He grew up helping his parents on their farm and studied Western painting at Kyung Hee University. After military service and about two years in Madrid, where he first came across tattooing, he returned to Korea, resumed his studies and began tattooing while still a student. He is self-taught. His first tattoo on another person was a Poseidon statue on a friend. “It took me about 10 hours but I think I did pretty well,” he told Things & Ink.
In South Korea, tattooing by anyone other than a doctor was for decades classed as an illegal medical practice. “Tattoos are still treated as a medical practice in Korea,” he said in 2024. “So tattoo artists are united and talking to the government to solve legal problems.” He worked anyway, in Hannam-dong, then Itaewon and Hongdae.
02 — The workUnder ten centimetres, around three hours
Most of his pieces fit in a space under 10 cm and take around three hours. He uses 1RL and 3RL needles for a whip-shading technique he describes as sensitive to depth and tone. The subjects are often animals: pet portraits, which he says bring him the most joy, and cover-ups. One client had lost parts of her fingers; he tattooed realistic fingernails over them.
In 2017 he collaborated with Montblanc Korea, drawing his work onto leather for a project reinterpreting Korean heritage. The resulting film, Tattoo in Seoul by Montblanc Korea, was a 2018 official selection at the LA Fashion Film Festival. In 2019 Inked magazine put him on its list of reasons to go to Korea for your next tattoo. He has also worked at Bang Bang Tattoo in New York and taught around 200 artists, some of whom became residents at his Seoul studio.
I always create my work with the mindset that it’s engraved on my own body.
Fine line. A hand and flowers in single-needle lines, one of his signature scales.Photo: courtesy of NandoPet portrait. He says the happiness of pet owners brings him the most joy.Photo: courtesy of NandoBlack and grey. Soft realism and whip shading with 1RL and 3RL needles.Photo: courtesy of Nando
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Fine line. A hand and flowers in single-needle lines, one of his signature scales.Photo: courtesy of Nando
03 — The whyA studio named for two histories
His Singapore studio is called MUNSHINE. Munshin is the Korean word for tattoo. Moonshine was the liquor made outside the law during American Prohibition. He sees the two histories as connected: an art practised under restriction that survived anyway. “Art and culture have always found ways to survive, evolve, and express themselves, even when restricted by law,” he says.
Originality is the other rule. He does not reproduce designs found online or reuse existing artwork. “I listen to the customer’s story and design the work,” he says. “Tattoos don’t allow mistakes, so I do my best.”
04 — The next chapterSingapore as a base, Asia as the circuit
From Singapore he still travels for guest spots in Seoul, Hong Kong and other cities across Asia. He can be booked for custom tattoo appointments, personalised design commissions, international guest sessions, private workshops and professional education, and brand collaborations. We asked him three questions. His answers, lightly edited:
What has changed since 2024?
The biggest development has been strengthening my professional foundation in Singapore and building my own studio. Through MUNSHINE STUDIO I can focus more deeply on my artistic direction while keeping full control over the quality and originality of my work. More recently I’ve been expanding collaborations with tattoo equipment brands and working with clients from around the world.
Why the name MUNSHINE?
It has two meanings. Munshin is Korean for tattoo, so it reflects my roots. And moonshine, from Prohibition, was alcohol made outside the legal system. For many years tattooing in South Korea faced similar restrictions. MUNSHINE represents that spirit of artistic freedom, the history of Korean tattoo culture, and my identity as a tattoo artist.
What comes next?
My ambition is to contribute to the development of tattoo culture in Asia and build an internationally recognised artistic brand and studio based in Singapore. I intend to keep growing internationally while keeping artistic quality, originality and personal meaning at the heart of everything I create.
Nando is on GigDay as a tattoo artist. Eighteen years after a ten-hour Poseidon on a friend’s arm, he is still working small, slow and by hand, now under a studio name that carries both of his histories.
On GigDay
Meet Nando
Book Nando in Singapore for a custom fine-line, black and grey or pet-portrait tattoo, or for a design commission, guest session or workshop. Booked, briefed and paid through GigDay.
