11th Breaking Project Co-Hosted by SBS Culture Foundation and Korea Breaking Federation Concludes Successfully

The 11th Breaking Project, co-hosted by the SBS Culture Foundation and the Korea Breaking Federation, was successfully held on August 15 at SBS Prism Tower in Sangam-dong.

Launched in 2021 and held twice a year (in March and August) since 2022, the Breaking Project aims to discover and nurture breaking talent in South Korea. In alignment with this mission, the 11th edition focused on youth competitors aged 19 and under—who have relatively fewer opportunities to compete and win—across two categories: b-boy and b-girl.

A total of 93 domestic youth athletes, including 62 male b-boys and 31 female b-girls, participated in the event. Including domestic and international battle guests, about 100 youth athletes took to the stage, setting a record for the largest youth participation in the history of domestic breaking competitions. This is more than triple the 31 junior participants from the previous tournament.

This serves as a concrete example of how the domestic junior and youth breaking population, which stood at just around 10 people only a few years ago, has expanded significantly. It is evaluated as the fruit of the Breaking Project's contribution to broadening the grassroots of domestic youth breaking through continuous tournament hosting and youth talent discovery and support programs.

Additionally, to strengthen the international competitiveness of domestic youth athletes and expand global exchange opportunities, Australia's BBOY BEN MX, China's promising youth breaking prospects BBOY YIHAO and BGIRL JIAJIA, and South Korea's youth national representative BGIRL MINJI (Song Min-ji) were invited as battle guests. It served as an opportunity for domestic and international youth athletes to compete and interact on a single stage, confirming the scale of grown domestic youth breaking and the potential of the next generation of athletes.

Notably, BGIRL MINJI (Song Min-ji) is a representative youth athlete who has grown through consistent participation in the Breaking Project, and she will compete as a member of the South Korean national team in the breaking discipline at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games. This is a case that showcases the purpose and achievements of the Breaking Project, which has been discovering prospects and supporting their continuous growth.

The competition drew attention as all members of the international breaking core group that led the operation of the breaking event at the 2024 Paris Olympics participated as judges and breaking specialists.

The organizers stated, "Experts who have been active on the international stage directly observed and evaluated the skills of domestic youth athletes, enhancing the professionalism and international standing of the competition, and it was a meaningful opportunity for participating athletes to have their skills assessed against international standards."

-Winners by Category-

■Youth B-Boy Category
▲1st Place: BEN MX (Australia) ▲2nd Place: Park Chang-hee (CHANGHEE) ▲3rd Place: Lee Soo-in (RED) ▲4th Place: Jeong Do-young (DZERO) ▲Top 8: Lim Ji-hyuk (SQUALL), Kim Gu-rum (KUMO), YIHAO (China), Kwon Ye-jun (MJ) ▲Top 16: Kim Min-gyu (MINKYU), Lee Heon-je, Kim Ye-jun (S.N.D), Seo Young-deok (BLACK DUK), Cho Min-sung, Duheekai (KAI), Han Tae-gyu (KHILY), Yang Ha-im (ROCK LEE)

■Youth B-Girl Category
▲1st Place: Song Min-ji (MINJI) ▲2nd Place: Kang A-ra (EIRA) ▲3rd Place: JIAJIA (China) ▲4th Place: Kim Ju-a (LUSYA) ▲Top 8: Jeon So-yi (SOI SAUCE), Lim Seo-yeon, Lee Ju-a (ZUA), Yoon Ye-seo (NAO) ▲Top 16: Choi A-in (NYX), Lee Si-yeon (CELINA), Park Jung-min, Myeong Chae-hyun (MONG), Mo Seo-yeon (CAMO), Kim Ye-jin (HOONT), Ahn Hyun-jung, Lee Yeon-woo

Winners of each category received a prize of 2 million won along with a trophy and a medal, while prizes and opportunities to participate in athlete development programs were also provided to runners-up from 2nd to 4th place, as well as athletes who advanced to the top 8 and top 16.

The athletes will receive systematic growth support through various programs such as body care, professional training, equipment support, and workshops. The athlete development programs are operated for domestic youth athletes, and in cases where international athletes won prizes, the participation opportunities were awarded to the next eligible South Korean youth b-boy and b-girl athletes.
(Photo courtesy of SBS Culture Foundation)

(SBS Entertainment News Reporter Kim Ji-hye)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.