2022 WDSF World Championship Breaking to be held in Seoul, South Korea

We are delighted to confirm that the WDSF South Korean National Member Body has just been granted the prestigious 2022 WDSF World Championship Breaking, which is officially planned for this new Olympic discipline, and is to be held on October 21 and 22 in Seoul, South Korea.

Seoul, South Korea’s capital city famous for its historical palaces, shrines and fortresses, is often admired for its abundance of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At the same time, this large metropolis is also bustling with technological hubs and futuristic landmarks.

While known in the popular media as the birthplace of the Korean wave and K-pop culture, Seoul’s urban cultural scene also breathes great synergy that makes the city an apt and charming destination for one of the biggest Breaking events of the year.

It is said that the growth of urban culture and Breakdancing in South Korea started in the 1980s-90s when South Korea opened its media channels to include television broadcasts from America, and American soldiers stationed near military bases in South Korea introduced the dance form to South Koreans. Fueled by a desire for individual expression, belonging and freedom, the increased media coverage stoked the interest in Breakdancing that has since taken the country by storm.

Last year, the 2021 WDSF World Championship Breaking was held in Paris, France, in December 2021. Of the 99 Bboys and 80 Bgirls who competed, the 2021 Breaking World Champions were Bboy Victor (USA) and Bgirl Ayumi (JPN) in the Adult Breaking 1 vs1 Bboy and Bgirl categories respectively, followed by Bboy Phil Wizard (CAN) and Bgirl Ami (JPN) as runners-up. In 2019, the WDSF World Championship Breaking was held in Nanjing, China, where Bgirl Ami (JPN) and Bboy Menno took first place, followed by Bgirl Sunny (USA) and Bboy Issei (JPN), in a championship with nearly 150 Breakers competing.

This year, with the WDSF World Championship Breaking planned to be held at the SK Olympic Handball Stadium – formally an Olympic arena, we also expect over a hundred Breakers competing for the World Championship titles.

As for WDSF, feedback on Breaking events will always be highly valued as WDSF strives to build on our ongoing work with Breakers and Member Bodies to continuously improve and produce top quality Breaking events for the athletes.

References

1. Namkung, V. (2017). “Seoul’s Bumping B-Boy Scene”. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/style/south-korea-hip-hop-breakdancing-seoul.html. June 23, 2022.

2. “Why do Koreans love break dancing?”. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180308-why-do-koreans-love-breakdancing. June 23, 2022.

Photographs (in order of appearance) by Mathew Schwartz and Shawn Ang on Unsplash.

Published on 6 July 2022