bBoy Hong 10

Kim Hong Yul (Hong 10)

At twenty-one, the Seoul-based B-boy is pushing himself and the art of competitive B-boying to higher altitudes with his trademark grin, gravity-defying moves, and oh-my-god-hit-the-rewind-button performance style.

For the past four years Hong10 has served as a virtual poster boy for the UK B-boy Championships, an invite-only, eight-country competition. He’s also a member of the Project Soul crew, a sort of all-star crew of Korea, and if they defend their title successfully at this year’s October event, Korea will be the only country to take home three Championship titles from the UK competition.

B-boying, or breakdancing, is one of the most unique and rugged forms of dance; battling is the premier event of the style, with freestylers pushing themselves in a competition with few physical, mental, or creative boundaries for the body in motion. The raw style first arrived in Korea during the mid-’80s through hip-hop documentary Wild Style; a resurgence in the early ’90s, when Korean boy band Seo Taiji & Boys introduced their bubble-gum pop version of “Hip Hop Dance,” pushed it over the edge. “Kids started breaking their VCR’s, pressing pause and overusing the slow-motion feature trying to learn the dance moves by themselves,” recalls Charlie Shin, Hong10’s manager.

The popularity eventually brought foreign dancers to Korea, sparking a fresh infusion of instruction. Once Korean B-boys had picked up the foundations, their homegrown skills evolved along their current trajectory, dominating the international scene.

“We are being recognized in an artform that is steeped in modern youth culture, a culture and artform that was developed in the South Bronx in the early ’80s,” reflects Hong10. “That artform is now going through its current evolution in South Korea in the new millennium, and I guess I have to take it step by step.” Like the man-to-beat gunslinger who can never rest, Hong10 is thinking of the next battle, thinking of ways to push himself to the next level. “Because there’s that saying,” he grins, “Above a man who runs is the man who can fly.”