Though breaking started in the streets of the United States,
Korean B-Boys have recently
been dominating the competition.
With breaking coming to Korea about 15 years ago,
teams here are now reaching world rank status.
We're here to see the journey that got them here,
what allows them to rapidly become the best in the game,
and how they continue to dance and perform
under the pressures of knowing they're the best
ranked crews in the world.
Hi, I'm Flipz.
I've been breaking for over 20 years.
I've been able to dance in movies, commercials,
and toured with some of the biggest
artists in the industry.
I'm here in Seoul, South Korea, to see
how their love and passion for break dancing started.
Gorilla Crew is a dance group of some of the original B-Boys
of Korea.
They now run schools which they teach
breaking to the new generation.
Now I'm going to check out Gorilla Crew.
Oh, what's-- oh, Gorilla Crew in the house.
What's up, bro?
Whoo, 2Touch.
Neo.
Yeah.
So how long have you guys been around?
Yes, it has been twenty years now since we started the team.
So 20 years ago, man.
What was the defining moment for you guys?
What started it all?
It is ridiculous, but our generation
have been mostly inspired by comics, and started dancing.
So comic books.
I think that's awesome.
Well, you guys get to live the story now.
I'm dying to meet the OG.
Ah, you are saying you want to meet our director?
Yes.
Let's do it.
There he is!
How are you, man?
What's up, dude?
Yeah.
How does it feel to be one of the original crews from Korea?
I was the youngest when I first joined the team,
but now I am turning forty.
Today, after twenty years, there are
so many street dancers in Korea.
So you have underground hip hop.
And then you have the mainstream K-Pop.
Is there ever any type of fusion?
There is no clash, because the underground music is still
being respected as it being underground,
and rap or hiphop music is being aired a lot
through the Korean media.
In the meantime, there have come about
so many young street dancers in Korea,
so we act with a sense of responsibility.
So you have an academy and you also go to schools
and teach different kids about the foundation of hip hop.
When it comes to teaching at schools,
street dance is categorized as a 'practical dance' at schools,
and we try to teach them contents
such as history of hiphop, etc.
I love that their foundation and their fundamentals
are on point-- posture, style, labor, funk.
And the discipline. They got it all.
We're about to go meet up with Fusion MC,
formerly number one ranked breaking crew in the world.
Oh!
Yo!
What's up, y'all?
Look at this, Fusion MC.
Whoom.
You guys have been doing it big.
For how long?
17 years.
And you guys are the OGs.
Wait, how do you say OGs?
-Jung. -Jung.
You know, this is amazing.
Are you going to show me around?
-Yes. -Let's do it.
-What's this? -It's our history room.
What?
You guys got your own museum.
-What's this up here? -This is our mayor.
And this is a thank-you from our city.
So the city has you guys' back.
They support you guys.
That's big, man.
These are just all the awards from the biggest competitions
we've done.
Fusion MC!
-This is the money. -That's crazy.
You guys have done so good for yourselves.
So where are we going to next?
-Burning hall. -Burning hall?
You guys are taking over South Korea.
You're the best of the best.
But how did it all start?
We came up from the underground to over here in ten years,
I am loving it.
You guys are like South Korea's top crew.
You've won all these battles.
But what I want to know
is every crew has, like, individuals
that have hidden talents.
And I saw that you guys have a beatboxer.
Let's go! Yeah.
And then, DJ?
In the house.
Footwork, style, flavor.
Let's go.
Choreography-- who's putting it all together?
Choreo man.
And then power moves?
Let's go.
And then we got a B-Girl in the house.
Whoa!
And if there's any room in there
for me to get down with y'all--
I don't know, man.
Really? Do I have to audition?
-Yeah, right now. -I got head spins.
Five, six, seven, eight--
OK, so he just went, right?
He finishes.
Is there any way the crew can come in through the middle?
When it goes 'boom', when the music starts,
he seems to be saying that he will do the tumbling.
So he's like this.
And all he needs to do is to just go-- rhuf.
Like, everyone goes, whu.
And I'll go, round-off, voom.
Ah, yeah.
Five, six, seven, eight.
I was watching you guys train all day.
I was watching you guys come up with the choreography.
How do you guys get so good so quickly?
I would say just diligence, every day.
Practice six or seven hour.
-A day? -Yeah, every day.
And everyone has their own special trait.
A lot of us have, like, strong ideas.
And we kind of build off each other.
And it's nonstop.
Diligence, every day, every day, every day.
Where did you guys get your inspiration from?
Yoga, acrobatic, taekwondo, circles.
Maybe a little bit of martial arts too.
Some guys have some background.
Yeah.
And you know what's great is I see it in your style.
Thank you guys for showing me around, taking the time.
I feel like I'm ready now.
Yeah? Do you guys think I'm ready?
-I hope so. -Hope so too.
-You guys are ready. -Yeah.
-Let's do this, man. -Let's go.
Let's kill it. Let's go.
Fusion MC music.
Let's go.
It's clear why the Koreans have some of the best
B-Boy crews in the world.
By taking their strict approach to life
and applying it to their dance, it's
allowed them to reach new heights.
Meeting Kim Woosung was pretty incredible.
He's one of the OGs in the game.
And he's doing something so awesome by passing down
the torch and allowing the next generation to shine.
Spending time with Fusion MC was also pretty epic.
It's clear to see why all of the hours of dedication
really pay off.
They're accepted and supported by their community.
I saw it firsthand.
When they came out, the entire town came out to support them.
So the way that Fusion MC is able to perform under pressure
is also pretty mind boggling.
And they actually let me hop in and let me
do a couple of solos with them.
I can't wait to see how Korean crews continue
to elevate the culture, the passion,
and the drive of breaking.
Sky's the limit.