Born in Chang-on, Korea. Ray’s first pure Korean artist. She came to Japan at a young age, and is a self-professed competitive, curious person who cannot help but challenge what she is interested in. She has tried various things and acquired various qualifications while working, and her strong social skills have helped her to adapt to Japanese culture successfully. Kei’s bright personality and abundance of social experience have helped her to develop a caring and kind nature toward those around her, which is a true reflection of who she is as a person. Kei’s hungry spirit led her to become a tattoo artist because of her genuine interest in tattoos. Initially, she delayed getting her first tattoo because she was concerned about the pain. Despite this, after her second tattoo, she had decided she wanted to try to do it herself. Of course people around him were against it, but she decided to push through the opposition and became an apprentice at a tattoo studio while also working as a caregiver, which she had been doing for many years. Being a mother of four children, she started learning tattooing in her spare time whilst also taking care of her family during the day and when she returned home. She eventually became an apprentice tattoo artist based mainly in Yokohama, and with the help of her mentor and sister and apprentice, eventually ran her own tattoo studio. In the midst of a rough and tumultuous life, always busy with work, child-rearing, and tattooing, she came to discover about Daniel and gradually came to admire him. “I really want to meet Daniel!” With this single-minded determination, she was able to arrange a meeting with Daniel through the guidance of Ran, who happened to be her apprentice in the past. Contrary to Daniel’s expectation that the meeting would be a casual chat, Kei’s enthusiasm won out and an interview was promptly conducted – since she had actually brought her resume with her. Kei’s broad energy, decisiveness, and her natural cheerful personality influenced Daniel, who had just recently abolished the tattoo assistant (apprenticeship) system, and as a result, Kei was one of the first to jump through the tightly closed doors of Ray’s, following in the footsteps of UC. She has good customer service skills, which she gained from his years of working experience, and she is able to handle all types of orders (requests) with ease, carefully listening to what is being asked of her. Her friendly and warm personality has earned her the reputation of being like an auntie to her relatives. However, once she gets her hands on a tattoo machine, she is a powerful and focused tattoo artist. Her strength lies in her delicate work, which even Daniel finds convincing, and her specialty is black-and-gray based Korean tattoos with a lot of detailed expression. On the other hand, she also has a dexterous skill in color work. Her speed, capacity, and productivity are also characteristic of her work. With a spirit of challenge, she is constantly studying to master not only the delicate designs that are her strength, but also many other techniques. Currently, under the guidance of Daniel, he is training to master both white tattoos and cover-ups. Daniel is very passionate about tattooing, and she is always looking for new ways to improve her skills.
“I like black and gray, flowers, detailed designs, and shadows. While working at Rays, Daniel has been teaching me how to do tattoos, and I will continue to grow and become bigger and bigger! I am still inexperienced, but I look forward to working with you all.”
