BIO BORN

HHyun Yoo, aka B-Boy BORN from Korea is a member of famous Korean Crew Rivers and was one of the participants in the RED BULL BC ONE 2005 in Berlin, Germany.

BORN has been dancing for twelve years now. In 1998, he saw members of the Rivers Crew dancing on the street. They were kids living in the same neighbourhood and when BORN saw their crazy power moves, he was blown away and realized this was what he had to do.

Because of his natural ability to dance, someone gave him the name “Natural Born Dancer.” When he joined Rivers, the name changed to “Newborn” as he was the new dancer in the crew. When he got better and better and finally started developing his own style, he naturally ended up with the name BORN.

BORN has always been inspired by his family, YuKu, Rivers, MZK and Floorgangz, but he wants to mention one B-Boy especially. “B-Boy Goguma taught me a great deal of foundation, but more importantly, he was the first one to show me what it really means to dance with the music.”

Apart from B-Boying, BORN is interested in the other elements of Hip Hop, too. He really likes graffiti and is drawing whenever he finds the time. His aunt is an artist and influenced him early on as a child. He frequently meets with other writers to exchange knowledge and styles and he prefers old-school graffiti over tagging. He also plans to learn everything about DJing and MCing in the future.

BORN is also interested in movies. “I am almost an otaku (Japanese term referring to people with obsessive interest). Another goal of mine is to study the field properly and make a short film. I am currently studying many different arts and cultures.”

BORN describes the Hip Hop scene as young compared to other scenes like jazz or rock. In Korea it’s even younger. In Korea, Hip Hop is still more about the individual than about being united since there are not many places for the scene to get together. He is sure though, that if B-Boys continue to participate in the scene, Korea will develop many more events where all elements of Hip Hop will come alive.

BORN didn’t use to be very interested in Korean traditions. However that changed, when he became serious about Hip Hop culture. He started to study Korean traditions, to understand more about his culture. “100 years ago Korean people played percussion instruments, held festivals and danced and sang, which shows that peace, unity and having fun was part of life back then, too. Sometimes I use traditional Korean instruments in my performances now. I think tradition is important. It’s the key that can link us to other generations.”

The RED BULL BC ONE 2005 was BORN’s first battle overseas and he is exited that now, five years later, he will be back as a judge. We asked him about his judging methods and he explained that the methods for 2-on-2, 3-on-3, crew or solo battles were all different. “Since the RED BULL BC ONE is a solo battle, I will concentrate on how much the participants focus on themselves, how perfect the round is from the beginning to when they come back to their position, and of course on their battling attitude. Also, the common factor of any battle is how much of their personal style they add to the music.”

BORN thinks it’s wonderful that the event will be in Asia this year. “The fact that the RED BULL BC ONE will be held in Japan, our neighbouring country, was hot news among the B-Boys since last year. Japan is the Asian country with the longest history of Hip Hop and the most organized scene. I see something new and learn something every time I go there. The RED BULL BC ONE will create an opportunity for the participants to share their knowledge about B-Boying and for everybody who follows the event to learn more about Hip Hop culture in Asia.”yun Yoo, aka B-Boy BORN from Korea is a member of famous Korean Crew Rivers and was one of the participants in the RED BULL BC ONE 2005 in Berlin, Germany.

BORN has been dancing for twelve years now. In 1998, he saw members of the Rivers Crew dancing on the street. They were kids living in the same neighbourhood and when BORN saw their crazy power moves, he was blown away and realized this was what he had to do.

Because of his natural ability to dance, someone gave him the name “Natural Born Dancer.” When he joined Rivers, the name changed to “Newborn” as he was the new dancer in the crew. When he got better and better and finally started developing his own style, he naturally ended up with the name BORN.

BORN has always been inspired by his family, YuKu, Rivers, MZK and Floorgangz, but he wants to mention one B-Boy especially. “B-Boy Goguma taught me a great deal of foundation, but more importantly, he was the first one to show me what it really means to dance with the music.”

Apart from B-Boying, BORN is interested in the other elements of Hip Hop, too. He really likes graffiti and is drawing whenever he finds the time. His aunt is an artist and influenced him early on as a child. He frequently meets with other writers to exchange knowledge and styles and he prefers old-school graffiti over tagging. He also plans to learn everything about DJing and MCing in the future.

BORN is also interested in movies. “I am almost an otaku (Japanese term referring to people with obsessive interest). Another goal of mine is to study the field properly and make a short film. I am currently studying many different arts and cultures.”

BORN describes the Hip Hop scene as young compared to other scenes like jazz or rock. In Korea it’s even younger. In Korea, Hip Hop is still more about the individual than about being united since there are not many places for the scene to get together. He is sure though, that if B-Boys continue to participate in the scene, Korea will develop many more events where all elements of Hip Hop will come alive.

BORN didn’t use to be very interested in Korean traditions. However that changed, when he became serious about Hip Hop culture. He started to study Korean traditions, to understand more about his culture. “100 years ago Korean people played percussion instruments, held festivals and danced and sang, which shows that peace, unity and having fun was part of life back then, too. Sometimes I use traditional Korean instruments in my performances now. I think tradition is important. It’s the key that can link us to other generations.”

The RED BULL BC ONE 2005 was BORN’s first battle overseas and he is exited that now, five years later, he will be back as a judge. We asked him about his judging methods and he explained that the methods for 2-on-2, 3-on-3, crew or solo battles were all different. “Since the RED BULL BC ONE is a solo battle, I will concentrate on how much the participants focus on themselves, how perfect the round is from the beginning to when they come back to their position, and of course on their battling attitude. Also, the common factor of any battle is how much of their personal style they add to the music.”

BORN thinks it’s wonderful that the event will be in Asia this year. “The fact that the RED BULL BC ONE will be held in Japan, our neighbouring country, was hot news among the B-Boys since last year. Japan is the Asian country with the longest history of Hip Hop and the most organized scene. I see something new and learn something every time I go there. The RED BULL BC ONE will create an opportunity for the participants to share their knowledge about B-Boying and for everybody who follows the event to learn more about Hip Hop culture in Asia.”