What crew do you rep?
MSK, LFK, M2D, LTD(France), CSB
How did you get into graffiti?
When I was a teenager, I first got into hip-hop culture through b-boying. From there, I naturally discovered graffiti culture.
What drew you to graffiti the most?
There are a lot of things, but one thing I have been thinking about recently is that I have almost never felt fully satisfied after painting a wildstyle on a wall. I have been doing this for over 20 years, but every time I paint, I still feel something new. The fact that there is still so much room to go further and get better is probably one of the biggest reasons I keep doing it. That feeling keeps it exciting for me.
It must have been challenging to work in the gap between art and illegality, especially in Seoul, Korea.
The fact that illegality is a major aspect of graffiti will never change. For me, thinking about that boundary and figuring out how to balance it is another part of what makes graffiti interesting.
When you focus on one thing for a long time, it is easy to lose balance in life.
Was there ever a moment when the balance between graffiti and life started to fall apart?
When you do one thing for a long time, your vision can become narrow, and you can get locked into one perspective. After many years of doing graffiti, there was a period when I started to recognize certain problems. At some point, my passion for graffiti started to feel almost like an addiction or obsession. I think that was around the time right before COVID. After that, I felt like I needed to make a change in my life, and about seven or eight years ago, I started jiu-jitsu. That experience made me look back on a lot of things. It helped me find a healthier energy and a better sense of balance.
How do you see Seoul?
I have not been everywhere in the world, but I think Seoul is probably one of the better cities to live in. It has a lot of advantages, like safety and a clean urban environment. Among all of that, I think the Han River is one of the most attractive parts of the city. I ride my bike along the Han River often. If a place is within about an hour by subway, sometimes riding a bike feels even more convenient. The natural scenery and landscaping around the river are really well done, and that makes the Han River feel even more special. Culturally, I also feel like some parts of Seoul are still in an early stage. Because of that, I think it’s a city with a lot of opportunities still ahead of it.
Your graffiti in the abandoned buildings around the Itaewon and Hannam redevelopment area was really impressive. Can you tell us the story behind that Project?
I think painting in redevelopment areas is something I have been doing since I first started graffiti. Apart from painting in the streets, I needed free time and a safe space where I could really focus on my own work. Around September 2024, I started making paintings and photo works in that area, and I continued doing it until recently. For about two years, I did work there almost every weekend. And I've been working on presenting those works through a book called 'Abandoned District' and an exhibition soon.
How did you meet up and painting with Barry McGee in Korea?
Around 2022, Barry McGee (Twister) had an exhibition in Seoul. I had been a longtime fan of his, so I went to see the show. At the opening, Barry’s friend DEEJ saw the T-shirt I was wearing and asked if I did graffiti. I told him my name, and he said he already knew who I was. He immediately introduced me to Barry. It turned out that we already had a few mutual friends. Right away, Barry suggested that we go painting together that night. So we rode bikes around Seoul and painting together throughout all the night.
What is the riskiest experience you ever had?
There have been a few situations. Graffiti always takes me to unexpected places, and sometimes to the wrong places. There was a time when someone pointed a gun at me from just a few meters away. So doing graffiti in the streets always comes with a certain level of danger and risk.
What made you start LFK crew?
Around 2011, after I had been doing graffiti for a while, I felt a strong need for a graffiti crew in Seoul. At the time, I was painting a lot with my friends 4black and Ocnsm, so I suggested that we form a crew and move under one name. That is how LFK started. It began as a graffiti crew in Seoul, and it is still developing and evolving today.
Can you tell us the story of how you became a member of MSK?
Ceaze, one of the members of MSK, recommended me to the crew. Through that recommendation, I was invited to attend the MSK 35th anniversary meeting in Los Angeles in 2023. I heard it was the first time in almost ten years that all the MSK members had gathered in one place. There were around 100 people there. At that meeting, 10 new members were added to the crew, each recommended by different older MSK members. I was one of them. Aside from me, the other nine new members were all people who had already built strong names and reputations at the forefront of graffiti scene. That experience gave me a lot of motivation and pushed me even harder.
You made the logo for 1BEDROOM. What meaning did you want to put into it?
Personally, I reinterpreted 1BEDROOM through the idea of a new beginning and Don't forget the where you from. Usually, when you first step out into the world, or start something new, you begin in a small space like a one-bedroom. I wanted to express a small room with one bed, the smallest kind of home, and a starting point through a simple logo. The most important keywords for me were beginning and staying true to the original mindset. I also wanted to include the image of stairs in the logo. To me, stairs represent the first step, the moment when you begin something. I wanted to combine the shape of a home and the image of stairs in a simple way.
Let's talk about 8Ballsword, which you have been running for a long time?
'8Ballsword' is close to an independent artist-run label where I release the things I want to make in a drop format. In the beginning, I had images that came from tattooing, and I wanted to translate those images into simple forms like clothing and goods. Now, I do not really define it strictly as a clothing brand. I think of it more as a title for small projects, capsule clothing releases, goods I can make with friends, and new projects with people in the graffiti world. There is no fixed schedule for when or what I make. It moves naturally whenever I have something I want to plan, or when I want to make something with friends.
