In 2, 178 tattooed male conscripts in ages of 19-24 years, the most frequent tattoo was a heart mark or a mark of heart and arrow. The Chinese characters which mean "one mind," eagles, dragons, some of 12 zodiacal animals, flowers, and flowers and butterflies or birds were also frequent. The ten Korean symbols of long life and symbols which have been traditionally believed as having evil-repelling powers, for example, blue dragon or white tiger were also found. The frequency of images were different between the provinces with different historical and cultural backgrounds. Data was obtained through interviews with 781 tattooed males. Analysis of the data revealed the following. The prevalence of tattooing was 5.6%. The most prevailing motivation to having tattoos was a contemporary group craze or fashion. Of the 781 tattooed men, 62% had tattoos on their forearms, 34.2% had self-injured scars on their bodies, and 18.6% had criminal convictions. The results of MMPI showed high scores in items of psychopathic deviate and schizophrenia. This suggests that those with tattoos were impulsive, hostile and were prone to delinquent behavior. These results indicate that selection of the image to be tattooed is heavily influenced by inner needs and the cultural background of individuals.
Adult ; Attitude ; Crime/statistics & numerical data ; *Culture ; Hostility ; Human ; Korea ; Male ; Social Behavior ; Tattooing/*psychology

PURPOSE: To describe etiologies and clinical characteristics of corneal opacities leading patients to seek cosmetic treatments. METHODS: The medical records of 401 patients who presented for cosmetic improvement in corneal opacities between May 2004 and July 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. The following parameters were analyzed: age, gender, cause of corneal opacity, time course of the corneal disease, associated diseases, prior and current cosmetic treatments, visual acuity, location and depth of the corneal opacity, and the presence of either corneal neovascularization or band keratopathy. A single practitioner examined all patients. RESULTS: The most common causes of corneal opacity were ocular trauma (203 eyes, 50.6%), retinal disease (62 eyes, 15.5%), measles (38 eyes, 9.5%), and congenital etiologies (22 eyes, 5.5%). Prior treatments included iris colored contact lenses (125 eyes, 31.1%) and corneal tattooing (34 eyes, 8.46%). A total of 321 of 401 eyes underwent cosmetic treatment for corneal opacities. The most common treatment performed after the primary visit was corneal tattooing (261 eyes, 64.92%). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to investigate the causes and clinical characteristics of patients presenting for cosmetic treatment of corneal opacities rather than for functional improvement. Various cosmetic interventions are available for patients with corneal opacities, and these should be individualized for the needs of each patient.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*statistics & numerical data ; Color ; Contact Lenses/statistics & numerical data ; Corneal Opacity/*ethnology/etiology/*therapy ; Esthetics ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgery, Plastic/*statistics & numerical data ; Tattooing/statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult