Young Is Blessed

Star of VH1's hit show Black Ink Crew: New York, Young Bae shares her gritty, candid, and inspirational coming-of-age immigration tale.

If you've seen Parasite or Squid Game, you have some idea what it means to be poor in South Korea-struggling to survive in a world that thinks you're worthless. Before Young Bae became a famous tattoo artist and star of American reality television, that nightmare was her life. With no stable place to call home, she spent nights in a community center, lived through the winter in a shipping container, and at times slept under a desk in her mother's studio, hiding from her violent, unstable father. But even when her family moved into the worst possible place anyone can live in Seoul-a dank, flooding basement apartment-she held onto hope. She was an artist, and that meant she had been blessed. With strong determination and a belief that impossible dreams can come true, Young Bae knew she would become somebody.