Meet Daebeom Kim | Tattoo Artist (Graycode)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daebeom Kim and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daebeom, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
I have a natural, almost instinctive drive to pursue beauty and aesthetic excellence. To me, the act of observing and creating something beautiful is a direct source of happiness. Since humans process the vast majority of information visually, I believe visual pleasure is one of the simplest yet most powerful forms of joy. My goal is to share this happiness with my clients and audience; seeing my work have a positive impact on others and receiving recognition for that contribution is what truly fulfills me as an artist.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work is rooted in Realism. To put it simply, it requires a high level of technical mastery—you just have to be good at drawing (haha). However, what sets my work apart is how I integrate elements that are notoriously difficult to capture in tattoos, such as water, smoke, and geometric patterns, into realistic subjects.
While typical subjects can be rendered through pure skill, these fluid elements don’t have a fixed form. This allows me to breathe a unique story into the design, infusing it with my own philosophy. I take a two-dimensional image and etch it onto the three-dimensional canvas of human skin. My goal is to make the art feel as though it is moving along with the person, embedding both my philosophy and the client’s story into a piece of living history. This process is what I find most exciting and prideful.

Getting to where I am today was certainly no walk in the park. I’ve loved drawing since I was a child, majored in fine arts, and have essentially spent my entire life creating. Even with that passion, the art world is incredibly competitive, and it required a massive investment of time and effort.
When I first started as a tattoo artist, my ambition to be the best led me to push myself too hard. I worked and practiced so excessively that I developed severe inflammation in my wrists and fingers. It got to the point where even using chopsticks was agonizing. I’ll admit, I initially thought tattooing would be easier than other mediums, but I quickly learned the hard way that nothing in this world comes easy. That experience gave me a profound respect for professionals in every single field.

On a slightly different note, there is a message I wish to share with the world. From a cosmic perspective, we are all living on a tiny, beautiful speck called Earth. We may not know exactly why we exist, but in the brief flash of time that we are here, I hope we don’t waste it on negativity, conflict, or jealousy.
Instead, I hope we can treat one another with respect and kindness, spending as much time as possible with those we love. I have drawn a great deal of inspiration from Carl Sagan regarding this perspective. We are all travelers on this “Pale Blue Dot,” and I believe our art and our lives should reflect that love. Thank you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had about a week to travel, I would take you to Bali, Indonesia. I visited back in 2019, and it left a lasting impression on me. The food is incredibly delicious and diverse, and the sunsets on the beach were truly the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in my life.

I’ve also heard that the Ubud region has a very thriving art scene, surrounded by breathtaking natural landscapes. As a popular global destination, it’s a place where you can meet people from all walks of life and cultures, sharing different values and experiences. It’s a place I’m dying to visit again.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As you may know, my work is deeply rooted in the inspiration I draw from many great artists. In particular, the masters like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci have been foundational to my practice. Among contemporary artists, Roberto Ferri has also had a profound influence on my creative journey.

I believe these figures haven’t just shaped my own work; they’ve left an indelible mark on countless artists and continue to influence fields far beyond art—extending into culture, science, and technology. They truly deserve recognition for the way they’ve pushed the boundaries of human achievement.

Instagram: graycodetattoo

Other: graycodetattoo@gmail.com