By popular request, here’s the clip that helped introduce the global b-boy community to the then-blossoming force of the South Koreans.

I spent many a high school night watching, rewinding and rewatching this routine on my VHS copy of Battle of the Year 2001. Appropriate as it was, the crew name “Visual Shock” was an understatement; even as a fellow Korean, watching this performance was more like a complete culture shock. Could this mean, I wondered, that Koreans could take the superhuman tenacity they displayed for StarCraft and standardized tests and apply it to b-boying?

Anyone who’s ever watched a Korean drama knows that South Koreans have a flair for exaggeration. This performance was no exception; it’s impossible not to miss the huge Korean flag, the trampoline and the prop folding fans, complete with the kung-fu-movie-esque whooshing noises. A few parts still give me chills.

While they didn’t fare as well in the battles, losing to Texas’s Havikoro, Visual Shock’s routine ultimately won it the first prize in the performance category.

As one YouTube commenter so eloquently puts it, “DAT WAS PREATTY TITE, BUT EVERYONE KNOWS KOREA’S BETTA THEN DAT.” True — as with any dated clip, there are a few missteps by today’s standards. Several members would go on to increase in their skill and visibility, most notably as members of T.I.P. Crew. But in terms of putting South Korea on the map, the shock value of this performance remains hard to beat.

Thanks to Johnny and Monica for the tip.