Thirty Three Jones | Desktop Site
Bboy Differ at IBE 2008
Though I have never been particularly gifted when it comes to any form of dancing, I've always had a strong interest in b-boying. My first introduction to hip hop, in fact, came about when the Rock Steady Crew performed at my school when I was in kindergarten (the exact reason for the Rock Steady Crew performing at a small suburban grade school is a topic for another post, but suffice it to say it made quite an impression on me). Though I don't make it out to too many b-boy events these days, I spend a fair amount of my free time checking out b-boy battles on youtube. One of the best b-boys I've seen in the past couple of years has been a kid from South Korea - and it's worth noting that South Korea has become one of the dominant areas of bboy culture over the past decade - named Differ, a member of the legendary T.I.P Crew. Whereas most b-boys today seem to focus more on the type of power moves that require a serious commitment to weight training, Differ's style is more like the old school form of breaking that focuses on finesse and pulling off each move cleanly. Making him stick out even further is the outfits he seems to favor, falling somewhere in between preppy and 80's hip hop: tight Polos and khakis matched with shell toe adidas.
This past weekend I was checking out what Differ's been up to recently, and I came across the news that he and a few members of his crew had been arrested for dodging the draft in a rather interesting intersection between hip hop and politics. His arrest has sparked a debate in Korea over the value of hip hop and what, exactly, it's added to Korean culture.
The full history of South Korea's armed forces is a bit outside of the scope of this post, but a few details are worth covering to put this into its proper context (and, hey, we might all have a chance to learn something here). The law in SK, put in place as a result of the Republic's ongoing cold war with North Korea, requires all men over the age of 21 to serve a minimum of two years in the military. Conscientious objectors have the tantalizing option of instead serving those years in prison, with the only other ways out of service being medical exemptions and the occasional sports-related exemption given to athletes for winning Olympic medals. The younger generation - that is, the Koreans actually facing the prospect of forced military duty - don't seem to be big supporters of this law, yet the Korean media has a field day whenever someone is charged with dodging their service requirement and it is generally considered rather shameful among Koreans, who hold the concept of "honor" in high regard, to avoid one's duty to the armed forces; those accused of draft dodging often lose their jobs and struggle to find further employment as a result. South Korea has a tendency to go overboard with their military service requirements, even in some cases drafting U.S. citizens who visited the country simply for being ethnically Korean.
In any event, three of the T.I.P crew members - including Bboy Differ - saw that this military requirement would've effectively ended their careers as performers, so they faked mental illnesses and claimed to be suffering from hallucinations. It worked well enough, as they all spent some time in mental institutions, which was a good enough excuse for them to avoid the draft for ten years, during which time the crew gained global recognition and even earned an award from the South Korean government in 2006 for being cultural icons. This past spring, however, the law finally caught up to them and they were arrested for draft dodging. One of the arrested, founding member Virus, wrote this as an explanation for his decision (English translation taken from here):
[I]n 2001, T.I.P was chosen to go to Battle Of The Year as the first Korean crew in history. There was 2 months left before Battle Of The year, but my Military recruit letter came 2 weeks later. At the time, BOTY was the greatest opportunity in my life, and also the last opportunity (or so I thought) in my life. But I could not delay my military service farther and pondered endlessly. There was no solution. Eventually I decided to become hospitalized. My plan of only staying there for one week was extended to a month and a half. At the time I thought I could leave whenever I wanted after being hospitalized. Because of that, I only had barely 2 weeks of practice before I flew out to Germany. After all our hard works, we received the Best Show Award. Nobody knew about Korea back then and the fact that we were the first Korean Crew to go to BOTY meant so much to me, it was so special.
Differ vs. Hong10
Recent news has been hard to come by. As far as I'm aware, the trial for all three T.I.P members is still pending with the general consensus expecting them to be found guilty. Draft dodgers are generally sentenced to terms longer than two years, after which they're still required to serve in the military. In the meantime, a debate has been going on in Korea over whether or not the crew members deserve an official exemption from duty, with some T.I.P supporters within the government citing the success that the crew has had in international bboy battles as a contribution to civil service worthy of exemption.
Though Differ's decision to duck out of his military service was not an entirely selfless act, it's still impressive to see what he's been willing to risk for his devotion to hip hop culture. One wonders if any
Bboy Differ Tribute
11/8/2010 3:45:50 PM posted by Fresh