Their B-Boy crews have already made a big name for themselves by being some of the best in the world. So why not bring the rest of the crews to Korea and make a contest of it?
Vapors [again, David and Rob, not Vapors’ editor… ahem] got the chance to attend this year’s R16 Urban Art Festival and World B-Boy Championships in Suwon, the second annual installment of the event. Suwon—as we discovered through several very expensive taxi rides—is about 60 minutes outside of Seoul. But being the hardcore investigative journalists and consumers of barley and hops sodas that we are, we sucked it up and crammed five into a cab the size of a Smartcar and went for the bright lights of central Seoul.
We were able to hit up downtown Seoul a couple times to hang with some of the local celebrities. They gave us the inside track, from a variety of boutiques and random galleries, to munching on some Seoul food with our new friend Jayaz from Buried Alive. We crammed in the highlights (and some lowlights and hangovers) in record time. And you couldn’t help but to get the feeling that Seoul was on the come up, kind of like New York in the early 90s.
After spending some time cruising around local shops, we headed to the first day of the main event. Needless to say, we stuck to our ways and immediately found the nearest beer stand, drained about four or five Korean brews (not bad, by the way, like a mix of Heineken and Coors Light) and headed in. On the outside of the stadium, members of the Seventh Letter Crew, Wontak Crew, JnJ Crew, Mr. Koma and Mad Victor Crew were laying down some nice pieces on a makeshift wall. Things were looking good, and we were feeling good and buzzed.
We went inside and headed backstage only to see some horror: something called the Choreography Competition.
Now, if it was up to me, I would put the kibosh on this silliest of shitshows for overall cheesy corniness. I mean the Super Crew from the US did a Super Mario Brothers dance show that made everyone a little uncomfortable, in the way a grown man feels buying tampons. You just didn’t want to be there, and you were afraid somebody might see you and think you were enjoying the show. It was embarrassing.
But before I go any further, you might be asking yourself, “What exactly is R16, besides goofy team dancing?” Like the title indicates, 16 teams from all over the world battled it out in two stages (the aforementioned Corneography and Battle) resulting in an amazing final between Korea’s Gamblerz Crew and Russia’s Top Nine Crew in the battle stage.
On the positive tip, the battle stage really did save the whole event for us, with crews flexing their most insane moves and shit-talking until shit got heated and a full-blown rumble almost broke out on stage. (Kinda like West Side Story.) A fight would have been the cherry on the top of the cake for us, but they all managed to cool it out, despite our chants of “fight, fight, fight!”
So we like a good old school battle, what can we say? Obviously the art of breakdancing has progressed quite a bit since the days of Electric Boogaloo II. Now dudes are springing and contorting moves that would make Cirque du Soleil’s acrobats quiver in their slippers. So go peep some of this years YouTube footage, you will most likely start whooping and screaming as these kids just destroy it.
Team R16 is already planning the ‘09 event, so for more info check out r16korea.com. Many thanks to Charlie and the entire R16 team for being such amazing hosts and putting on such an amazing event.
Humantree / Buried Alive
buriedalive.co.kr
#643-1 4F Sinsa-Dong Kangnam-Gu
Humantree is the store. Buried Alive is the line. Tucked up an unassuming flight of stairs is one of the best shops I bring you from this visit. The store/gallery space specializes in small-run items from up-and-coming brands. And I have to say, Buried Alive was one of the strongest. Owner Jayass is firing all on all cylinders.
Diafvine
646-16 Shinsa don’g Kangnam
diafstore.com
’50s-ish motorcycle-inspired gear (with a pricetag that resembles anything but) for the kinda guy that could be mistaken for the drummer for the Jesus and Mary Chain or Velvet Underground. Or that dude you’d expect to see at a neo-psychedelia garage rock concert with his chick in a short leather skirt. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club all the way. From their own line to vintage, there’s no denying the flair.
Liful Private Design
661-14, Sinsa-Dong, Kangnam-Gu
liful.net
Choi Taehoon, creative director behind the Liful, brings a tech vibe to his streetware line. The shop is all white, with steel fixtures. Shirts, shoes, plants, jackets, collectible figures.
Gallery175
175-87 Anguk-dong Jugno-Gu
Walked in on Ku Myung-Sun’s “I’ll Take Revenge” debut solo show. Not your typical gallery space, it looked like someone’s home from the outside. Inside was another story. Each room had a different theme: mixed media/audio visual in one, photography and painting in others. Here are a few of my favorites.
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