Why Breaking Is Now an Olympic Sport and What It Means for K-Pop

Translation result.Interview with Moon Byung-soon, distinguished professor at the Graduate School of Foreign Studies, Seoul — “Breaking is now an Olympic sport. Japan built an elite pipeline. We need to develop youth ahead of the Asian Games in September.”“We’re the birthplace of K-pop dance. At the Asian Games in September, shouldn’t we produce at least one gold medalist in breaking?” Moon Byung-soon told the Seoul Economic Daily on the 15th, stressing the need to develop breaking as a competitive sport. Moon, known by the stage name Dark Horse, argued that the global popularity of K-pop dance traces back to breaking and that Korea must put a formal youth-development system in place, as other sports have done.A member of Korea’s first generation of b-boys, Moon performed with one of the country’s leading crews, Maximum Crew, and dominated international contests — including two titles at Canada’s The Battle in 2006. After balancing office work with b-boy life, he taught at an arts high school, ran a dance academy and began teaching practical dance at the university level in 2013. In 2021 he became the country’s first full-time professor in practical dance.Breaking — also called b-boying or breakdancing — is a street-dance discipline that was added as an official event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Since its Olympic inclusion, nations such as China and Japan have invested heavily in elite athlete development. Japan, in particular, has emerged as a powerhouse, producing back-to-back gold medalists at major international competitions.Moon attributes Japan’s ascent to an integrated elite-development system that runs from elementary through high school. “Japan treated breaking as a sport early and built a national pipeline for athletes,” he said, pointing to b-boy Shigekix — the inaugural Asian Games gold medalist — as a clear example. Moon recalled first meeting Shigekix at a 2013 youth international event when the dancer was 12 and said he was stunned when Shigekix later won the 2020 Red Bull BC One World Final and then the Asian Games gold.That trajectory convinced Moon that dance education requires a structured curriculum combining theory and practice. He warned that despite Korea’s deep b-boy infrastructure, the country’s results on the international sports stage have lagged since breaking was elevated to elite-sport status. In the early 2000s, Korean crews swept multiple international competitions, but after institutionalization as a sport, progress has stalled.Moon also said the global wave behind K-pop dance is likely to continue. “Broadcasting shifted music from listening to watching. Now social media has made dance something people consume visually,” he said. “K-pop moves are highly imitable and have become mass culture, which expanded the market. That enthusiasm won’t cool off anytime soon.”On livelihoods for K-pop dancers, Moon said the scene has matured into multiple career paths. “K-pop dance has grown into an industry where performers can work as stage artists, move into arts education, join musical ensembles, or collaborate with overseas artists,” he said.Moon is advancing a commercial vision for K-pop dance as well. A new industry-academic initiative created a K-pop Dance Center designed to be dancer-centered rather than singer-focused. “The center will discover rookie dancers, form groups and host international K-pop dance competitions,” he said. He is also developing K-pop dance travel packages aimed at international tourists, combining education and tourism. “More schools abroad are adding K-pop dance as an elective. We’ve already offered teacher-training programs that pair education with travel,” he added.Although he still performs, Moon said he will leave competition to younger dancers at the Asian Games. A 2024 video he posted to his personal YouTube channel, Dark Horse, titled “The Dancing Manager,” went viral. “YouTube is my private space to present myself as b-boy Dark Horse,” he said. “At the Aichi–Nagoya Asian Games I’ll appear as a commentator, not a competitor, and I’ll be rooting for South Korea’s national team.”