Q. Hello, please introduce yourself.
A. bojvck was originally a boy who drank and had fun in Seoul, but now he has grown older and has become a young man. I really like street culture.
Q. Congratulations on being nominated for the Korean Music Awards (hereinafter referred to as ‘KMA’). I would like to ask you how you feel about being nominated.
A. I started playing music a little earlier than others, so Han Daeum was a good resource for studying Korean genres of music from different periods from a young age. I thought, “There were people like this during this time,” and it really helped me a lot.
To me, I think KMA is a database that is of great help in Korean music history, regardless of the meaning of awards or nominations. I am grateful to have left my name in that database. Really.
Q. Shall we start with a recent talk? I understand that you have been very active since your last appearance in
A. It was exactly one year ago. I was really angry at that time, and I still feel angry. At the time, I wasn’t sure about 2025, but looking back, I think it went well. It was a year where I achieved great things both outside of music and musically. Based on those lessons, we are making plans to have a good year in 2026. I have a clear plan from November-December of last year to August-September, so I am preparing step by step.
Q. You hold a lot of parties and events and play games. When talking about party culture, the topic of clubs cannot be left out. I’m curious about how you first encountered club culture.
A. People think of me as “a friend who goes to clubs all the time,” but the first club I went to was ‘Tunnel’ in Itaewon. Skateboarders say, “If you’re a musician, you should go to clubs!” So, the first time we went together was in November when I was 20 years old.
I didn’t fall in love with the club right away that day. On the same day, we went to a famous techno club in Itaewon, and he made me and my friend meet up. Later, when I heard that the number of men and women was being controlled, I thought, “That’s just what clubs are like,” and it disappeared from my mind, but when I opened my eyes, my life was like this now.
Q. What made you fall in love with club culture?
A. About a year later, DJ Pool contacted me first, curious about me. We decided to work together and met various DJs, and as we learned what DJs truly do and want, we felt attracted to it. At the recommendation of many of my older brothers and sisters, I also started DJing and gradually became absorbed into the club.
Above all, it was difficult to find a place like a club anywhere else. It was an ideal space for me because it was a place where a variety of people gathered not only for music and entertainment, but also for people such as painters, boarders, and music makers to “have fun.” Of course, there may be various reasons such as reason or business purposes, but in the end, it was a place where everyone came to laugh, so the club gave me positive energy, and I think I fell deeply in love with it after that.
Q. I would like to ask about the differences between overseas clubs and Korean clubs.
In any city, no matter how tired I am, I try to go to a club for an hour or two. However, I can’t really feel a big difference. The opposite sex, business, people using cell phones… It was similar everywhere. It may be because I haven’t gotten into it yet or I don’t really enjoy entertainment, but I think the music is good whether it’s a DJ in Seoul or a DJ in another country. To put it bluntly, people are more intoxicated by things other than alcohol, cigarettes, and women.
Q. I heard that bojvck likes boards more than music. When did you first encounter skateboarding and how did you get into it?
A. I was diagnosed with severe malnutrition when I was 15 years old. I don’t know why, but I guess it was just meant to be. So I looked around with the thought, “I need to exercise.” However, I was afraid of group sports because I lacked social skills at the time.
Then I borrowed a small penny cruiser board from a friend in the neighborhood and started riding it. I also tried downhill longboarding and skateboarding, and I fell in love with it. As a child who only studied, I fell in love with it even more when I felt the freedom. I was serious enough to create my own board club at the end of my second year of middle school. Even 10 years later, I have never lost my mind. There have been countless times when I disliked music, people, or a lover, but I have never disliked a board. It’s scary.
Q. What is the appeal of skateboarding?
A. I love you so much and so beautifully that I can’t express it in words. Can I say it felt like I met the most beautiful person in the world while walking down the street? To me, that’s skateboarding.
Q. Where do boarders often gather these days?
A. I ruptured my cervical disc while riding a board in early August of last year, so I still can’t ride. So communication with boarders decreased. After coming to Seoul, I enjoyed riding alone, so I wasn’t close to everyone. However, from what I heard, it seems like there are still a lot of them in places where they used to gather, like Ttukseom, Cult, and Sinchon.
Q. It would be a good idea to also look at street culture itself. You also played in clubs, but you were often seen doing block party activities. Was there a moment when you first realized “this is street culture”?
A. I think club culture and street culture are definitely different to me. There is a big common denominator called ‘underground’, but the nature is completely different. It didn’t come all at once, but as I looked at each of the things derived from the street - things like b-boys, graffiti, block parties, skateboarding - I felt that there was a sensibility that tied them all together.
They are rough, a little aggressive, and have their own community. I have a dream to one day properly explain this behavior and culture, but it hasn’t been fully established yet. Even if you can’t say it in exact words, I think you probably have “that scene” that comes to mind. I think you can think of it as street culture.
Q. Is there a charm of street culture or characteristics of people who enjoy that culture?
A. He’s young. Be it mind or action. I don’t mean it in a bad way, but in a good way. In fact, it is not a profitable thing to do. Whether it’s buying spray or risking your livelihood by riding your board. Nevertheless, I believe that living and acting for your dreams and aspirations deserves respect and respect.
Q. How did you feel when you heard the news of the Apgujeong Rabbit Hole demolition?)
I don’t think I’m deeply into graffiti culture. However, I felt sad because I knew the great meaning of that space through the people around me, the media, and materials. I have been boarding in Paju and Ilsan, so I know what it feels like to lose a spot.
The place that really stood out to me was the outdoor concrete X-games center called ‘Woonjeong I didn’t go often because the facilities were vague and inspections such as protective guards were strict, but I was disappointed when I heard that everything was going to change due to remodeling. Because I know it will become even more stupid.
The rabbit hole was demolished, not replaced, and it was even more unfortunate because I knew that it was a space with greater meaning.
Q. I think one of the keywords for this nominated album can be seen as ‘Seoul’. What kind of city does Seoul look like, bojvck?
A. A colorful yet colorless city that has no color yet. I think it’s a city that doesn’t have anything of its own. That’s not to disparage it. There is probably no one who truly loves Seoul as much as I do. Wherever I go, people say, “Seoul is better” and “I’m going to die in Seoul.”
However, I don’t think there are many great things about Seoul yet from a cultural and urban perspective. For example, I think Gyeongbokgung Palace is a Korean landmark rather than a Seoul landmark. When I talk about Seoul, elements that have developed in conjunction with urban projects, such as the Han River and Cheonggyecheon, come to mind, but compared to other cities, I feel that it is still weak. There are so many cultural elements just looking at Japan.
But I actually find this fun. There are no limits and there is no past glory to win, so wouldn’t the current and next generations, including me, create it?
Q. As someone who often travels abroad, what sets Seoul apart?
A. It’s safe, English skills are generally high even though it’s not your native language, and everything is really fast. Other than that, my overseas friends often recommend Busan and Jeju when they travel to Korea.
Q. bojvck, what do you think is the charm of the streets of Seoul?
A. I cautiously believe that this is still colorless and odorless. However, the fact that everything is fast means that cultural absorption is also fast, so I think things can change in an instant. No one knows, really.
Q. Now let’s get into the album story. What is the intention behind the title [UnderNationWide]?
A. At first, it was very grandiose. Originally, I didn’t want to come up with an arrogant title, but since I’m 25 in Korean age this year and I know I’ll soon be 30 or 40, I thought, “Let’s start with a name that showed off the spirit and spirit I had when I was young.” So I wanted to write ‘Underground’ and ‘Worldwide’.
However, since my personality is sensitive and timid, I worried about it and told it to my girlfriend, who I am still seeing at the time. My girlfriend said those two words were too self-conscious, so I agreed. The current title is what the two came up with after putting their heads together.
If your English is vague, it looks strange. Fortunately, my girlfriend is a foreigner, so she said it was okay, so I confirmed it. Thank you again to Maya. Thank you, Love Maya.
Q. I got the impression that it was a mix of genre-wise elements. What was your intention in the planning stage?
A. Rather than a genre, I wanted to convey the concept of ‘mix CD’. Wherever I went to a record store in any city, I bought a mix CD. Vinyl and tape are cool, but I think there will be clear limits to management and practical use in 2026. On the other hand, when it comes to CDs, many cars still have CD players, and all of my cars play CDs, so I especially collected a lot of mixed CDs.
Of course, you can listen to mix sets on YouTube or Apple Music/Spotify, but if you put the mix CD in, it’s inconvenient to play anything else. So I thought it would be a way to enjoy the DJ’s intention for a longer period of time, even if it was annoying, and that experience led to “I should make an album like this too.”
So I started with the mix CD/mix album format. When I asked my older DJs for advice, I heard things like “It’s not marketable” and “It’s better to release an album and a separate mix set,” but I did what I wanted. I think it was enough to introduce the concept of mix CDs to my generation. Although the meaning of the name ‘Live Set Album’ has faded a bit, I still took on the challenge and many people enjoyed it, so I am a little satisfied.
Q. You included an extended version. Can you explain its appeal?
Originally, I wanted to use the word (Original Version), but the distributor said it would be difficult to label it on music sites. So, it has been organized into the current notation, and I hope you can comfortably think of it as the ‘original song’.
DJ friends sometimes ask, “I bought a song, but is it true that the BPM keeps changing little by little?” But since the album is a live set, the BPM keeps going up. If you are interested, I recommend purchasing the extended version. Listen at your convenience.
Q. I’m curious why you paid homage to Michael Jackson in “Like a B.J.”
A. In my discography, the album that attempted dance/electronic music in earnest was [I THINK YOU NEED SOME BREAK] (2023), and I think the title track “Break/Junkie” is one of the songs that changed my life. The reason the title is capitalized with B and J is because I’m ‘bojvck.’ The title also reminded me of Dizzee Rascal’s “Bassline Junkie.”
Afterwards, when I wanted to write another title using BJ, I thought ‘Like a B.J’ would be witty and good, but I was blocked by the melody. While I was saying “BJ…BJ…”, the world’s most famous BJ, ‘Billie Jean,’ came to mind and I put it in, and it fit so well that it gave me goosebumps, so I used it as is.
Among the ghettotech classics, there are already tracks that sample ‘Billie Jean’, such as DJ Funk’s ‘Work It’, and I thought this album was a collection of my favorite sub-genres, so it became a song I was very attached to, adding homage to homage. When I made it, I was in Milan, and I walked around all day listening to this and imitating the moonwalk.
Q. “Classic Seoul Break” was interesting because of its urgent atmosphere right from the title. What kind of image was this song created with?
A. We started with the idea, “Let’s make a dance track with a sound that represents Seoul.” However, we concluded that there was no representative sound for Seoul yet, so we went back to “let’s do a club track again using Korean.”
The track that served as a hint in the process was DJ co.kr’s “Chorus Circus” (2020). In addition to the intro’s “One, two, three, four!”, there is also a small chuimsae that sounds like old Korean music. Taking a cue from there, I also added a small vocal like “Ahhhhhhhhhh” and completed it using the Getotech/Getohouse bassline and various vocals. Personally, this is the song I have the most affection for in the album. We express our respect to ghettotech/ghettohouse masters, DJ co.kr, and electronic artists who incorporate Korean.
Q. I’m curious about bojvck’s plans for the future.
A. There are so many things planned this year. Since last year, I have jokingly said, “I’ve done everything I wanted to do with music,” but in reality, there is one thing left. I have never invited my parents, who raised me, to an event to celebrate my project. I think I might be able to invite you to the upcoming public project in May.
Some people may say, “It’s nothing special because other brothers did it in the past,” but I think it’s a great blessing to be able to work on a project like this as an independent artist in Korea at the age of 25. We are preparing a project that everyone, regardless of gender or age, can enjoy.
Aside from the May project, most of the plans have already been made. The funny thing is, the songs aren’t all out yet, but everything I want to do is out there. Tomorrow’s bojvck will gradually create the song. I hope you’ll look forward to it next year, and even the year after - until the name bojvck loses its youth. I will keep the stories I have always told.
Q. Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to those watching the interview?
A. This album and the character bojvck were created because I had older brothers, sisters, friends, and younger brothers who loved street culture. ROOKIE for the featuring, JODAE for the album cover, Josua who co-created the book, TORA PARK for the visual photos, Kim Dong-hee/Salmon/Yeonsu for the music video, DJ brothers and sisters who participated in the album-related party, and club venues—everyone was a skateboarder/graffiti/b-boy/DJ, and it was a project made up of people who were serious about street culture.
If you like this album as well as everything else I’ve done, I hope you’ll be interested not only in music but also in the form of ‘street culture’. It will definitely make a big impact in your life in some form. Really, seriously.
Q. This concludes the interview. thank you.
A: Thank you. Thank you. i love you. ALL LOVE.