It’s not very often that a Korean idol, particularly a female idol, publicly and freely displays their tattoos. As a result, a lot of people have been a bit surprised that Taeyeon has been very lenient in showing off her tattoos across her social media platforms. Are you curious about what drawings and signs are on Taeyeon’s body? Are you more interested in their significance to her? Stay tuned, to find out more about Taeyeon’s career and how it ties into her tattoos!
Taeyeon’s Career
Taeyeon’s career has been quite a wild ride, some would say, as she has both successfully promoted as part of a group and through her solo activities. She first debuted with the group Girls Generation in 2007, and quickly rose to fame after the hit single Gee was released in 2009. The group went on to promote under the Girls Generation banner for 10 consistent years, producing hit after hit. Not only does the group sing in Korean, but also in Japanese, and they’ve even done a few songs in English. Some of their songs, such as Hoot, Genie, I Got A Boy and Lionheart, have topped the charts nationwide, with their albums sales soaring. In addition to her role as a member of Girls Generation, she’s also worked on projects as part of units, both with other members of the group and with performers from the bigger company. First of all, she was part of the unit Girls Generation TTS, along with fellow members Tiffany and Seohyun. The group was geared towards vocal performance and ballads, as compared to Girls Generation’s brighter pop sounds. Besides having already promoted as part of Girls Generation TTS, she has also participated as part of SM The Ballad. As the name of the group suggests, that project focuses on a number of ballads performed by various talent from their agency, depending on who in SM Entertainment is the best fit for the song. She was paired with Shinee’s Jonghyun to sing the song Breath. As for her solo work, Taeyeon officially debuted solo with the mini-album I, in 2015. The title track of the same name also served as her promotional single and quickly rose in the charts. She followed up with promotions for the mini-album Why, in 2016, and her first full album, My Voice, in 2017. Songs such as Why, Starlight, Fine, and Make Me Love You were constantly on the charts. Some of the songs mentioned above became the inspiration behind some of her tattoos.
Taeyeon’s Collection of Tattoos
Her tattoos seem to hold a very dear place in Taeyeon’s heart, reflecting parts of her identity and her experiences as an idol in the industry, so let’s take a deeper look at each one, and how it reflects her life.
Pisces Sign
Below her left ear there’s a tattoo that looks a little like the letter H, but it’s actually the symbol for the star sign Pisces. In astrology, each individual star sign has its own sign or symbol. Pisces represents a fish, and the sign under the singer’s ear is a simplistic approach to that symbol. Taeyeon, who was born on March 9th, is a Pisces baby, and her tattoo is a celebration of that.
Pisces Fish Tattoo
Like the one we just looked at, Taeyeon decided to get a tattoo with another symbol representing her sign, on her finger. This one a is a more straightforward representation of her star sign, with a very simple fish. It’s on her middle finger and can be seen often when she does close-up takes on her instagram and various other social media.
SereniTY
She has another tattoo that fans admire, it’s the Serenity tattoo just above her right elbow. The tattoo is written in a script font, and seems to emphasize the last two letters, TY, which some interpret as a shorthand for her name, Taeyeon. The meaning behind this tattoo seems to be a representation of herself, as her name Taeyeon means calm, in Korean, and the English word serenity has a very similar meaning. The inclusion of her initials in the word further supports this theory, as coincidentally or not this is also the biggest tattoo that she has.
Purpose
Next, she has the word Purpose on the back of her neck. This tattoo is fairly recent and can mostly be seen on her social media pictures where she is posing with her back to the camera. The meaning of the tattoo is mostly interpreted by fans as her searching for her place and meaning in life, that she is reminding herself of her purpose here while she is alive.
Stickman Doodle
Moving on to her smaller, more hidden tattoos, there’s one on her wrist that she had gotten with the Shinee member, Key. The tattoo resembles a doodled stick-figure that she could have drawn herself and gave to the tattoo artist etch on her skin. Like her other tattoos, it’s simply composed of black lines with no coloring, which matches her simple and fuss-free aesthetics.
I Tattoo
Another tiny tattoo found on her body, is the I etched on her thumb. Fans mostly see it when she posts pictures of her cute and dainty manicures. The I is written in a gothic font, inked in black. This tattoo refers to her debut album, I, and its debut title track of the same name. It’s a way to show her sentimental side, to commemorate her first solo venture outside of Girls Generation.
Fine Tattoo
Another reference to her songs can be found in the tattoo on her other middle finger. The tattoo is the initial F. Most fans interpret it as a reference to her single Fine. This also serves as a reminder for her, who has struggled for the past few years over anxiety and several other mental conditions. So what do you think about Taeyeon’s tattoos? Are you interested in getting some after looking at hers? Which one do you like best? Comment your thoughts down below!
