R16 Korea is an annual international b-boy tournament and urban arts cultural festival sponsored primarily by the Korea Tourism Organization and the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.[1] The main event features sixteen B-Boy crews representing fifteen countries competing in a two-day tournament for world championship titles in two categories: best crew performance and best crew battle.
The festival features graffiti artists, street wear designers, musical performers and dancers who specialize in hip-hop, popping, locking and other urban arts subcultures from South Korea and other countries.
Created and Organized by Korea Tourism Organization produced by Cartel Creative Inc., R16 is a celebration of the creative energy behind urban youth culture. Based on a theme of "Respect" (which is what the "R" in R16 refers to), the tournament and festivals were first held in 2007 in the city of Seoul.
The 2008 event took place in the city of Suwon The 2009 event host is the Metropolitan City of Incheon and the 2010 event was brought back to Seoul City. The event will continue annually, as the Hip Hop culture has recognized South Korean b-boys as a special part of its history. Korean-American b-boy, singer, and rapper, Jay Park, has been the official ambassador of R16 from 2011 until 2013. Since 2014, R-16 Korea partnered up with the World BBoy Series and helped create Undisputed, an event to crown the solo world b-boy champion.
In 2016, the funding from the Korean government was cancelled and the competition was not held in 2017 and 2018.[2] In 2019 edition, Korean-sport brand FILA bought the naming rights for the competition, and the competition has therefore been named the 2019 FILA Respect Culture for sponsorship reasons.