WEBZINE ACC

Last July, I heard that MisMolly, a dance crew, would visit the Asia Culture Center (ACC) to film a promotional video. The filming date was set to be August 1, the regular closing day for the ACC. The rain, however, moved the filming session to September 5. Despite the rain falling for only a short while, the date was pushed back a month, and I had to wait with anticipation and disappointment. In early September, news reached Korea: A typhoon of unprecedented strength would strike the peninsula.

That pushed the meeting back for about a month, so the meeting with MisMolly, whose performance captures people’s eyes and hearts like a massive typhoon, was re-scheduled to Tuesday, September 27. The day was clear, the sky was blue, and the Musical Fountain at the ACC’s Butterfly Garden danced in anticipation with the music. Now that I was finally able to meet the crew, I conducted a simple interview with the crew about the ACC and dancing.

• I heard that all crew members are still students. I’m sure you have visited the ACC through your school.
  Do you have a specific image that you associate with the ACC?

  Bae Jin Ah(MisMolly)
  I actually visited the ACC before on a school trip. I thought it was like a museum, but I was surprised by its size and its diverse faces when I was there. ACC Children, in particular, was impressed with it for being big and well-furnished, so it became a place I wanted to visit again.

• To anyone who visited the ACC for the first time, what’s your impression of the place?

  Kim Chae Eun(MisMolly)
  It’s bigger than I thought, and I felt it was a place where people of all ages could enjoy different cultural activities freely. I could not look around the ACC’s entirety, but the filming sites we visited were impressive, so much so that I wanted to visit the spaces by myself later.

• The ACC’s Hanul Madang grass field is a famous hangout for the people of Gwangju.
  Have you ever gone on a picnic with your friends there?

  Lee Seo Yeon(MisMolly)
  Hanul Madang is indeed a famous place for picnics in Gwangju, so I went there with friends and some good food. I think the most charming and healing point about the Hanul Madang is that you can lie down on the grass and look up to the sky.

• The Democracy Plaza on the ACC’s above-ground portion is a popular place for “street culture,” like skateboarding or busking. As artists specializing in street dance, do you think the ACC is a good space for street dancing?

  Kim Ji Sung(MisMolly)
  Street dance is about dancing on the street, like its name. So as long as one has good music and people to dance free-style with, I’m sure it can be a good space for dancing no matter the occasion. Since our PV shows some places within the ACC, I hope the video will draw more people to enjoy street dancing in the ACC. Street dancing in the ACC will serve as an opportunity for the people of Gwangju to more easily access and enjoy dancing.

• You’ve danced in different spaces across the ACC. If MisMolly is to perform in the ACC, what would be the most fun place to dance in?

  Kim Dae Hee(MisMolly)
  I think ACC Children would be the most fun. We can, for instance, make some interesting performances with the structures there or use the props in our dance. The space there is cute and decorated very well, so we can use different concepts across different spaces to organize our performances.

• Gwangju is said to be a dancing region. Indeed, many dancers in K-pop groups come from Gwangju and Jeonnam regions. Would you agree that Gwangju has that affinity for dancing?

  Jeong Eun Chae(MisMolly)
  I agree, yes. Compared to other regions outside Seoul, Gwangju has a rather thriving street dance scene. That is apparent in the successful annual dance events hosted by Bitgoeuldancers. I think these environmental factors contribute to many excellent dancers coming from Gwangju. As you said, there are many K-pop idol dancers who come from our region, but in my opinion, J-Hope of BTS is the best of them all. I have been told that before becoming a K-pop idol, he was a rather well-known street dancer in the Gwangju scene.

• Programs like “Street Woman Fighter” or “Street Dance Girls Fighter” have drawn much interest toward the art of dancing and dancers.
  Now that you have appeared on the latter, have you felt the perceptions from those around you change?

  Kim Ryeo Eun(MisMolly)
  My parents supported me from the beginning, and even during and after the “Street Dance Girls Fighter,” their support stayed the same. I think the difference I noticed was the interest that my relatives seemed to develop in street dancing. But above all, when we go to contests or events such as “MisMolly,” people recognize us and expect good things from us. I am very thankful for that, and I pledged that I would have to engage more responsibly with my membership in “MisMolly” and work harder. I want to remain active as a member of “MisMolly,” and put up a positive and good performance as I go forward.

• For many people who were not very familiar with the dancing scene, “Street Woman Fighter” and “Street Dance Girls Fighter” brought female dancers to their attention.
  As a dancer and a woman, have you felt anything different from before?

  Lee Seo Yeon(MisMolly)
  I think programs like “Street Woman Fighter” and “Street Dance Girls Fighter” have served as a good basis for woman dancers to establish themselves in popular media. The programs brought the public’s attention to those who have worked hard silently in their places, and the programs served as an opportunity for the women dancers to express their charms and positive influences to the public. So I think the dancers and the field of street dance itself have become more beloved than before, and I am thankful for that. However, I think the biggest change is the emergence of different contents and SNS challenges that brought street dance much closer to the public, regardless of gender. We hope the public will continue to enjoy street dance as they do now.

• For my final question, I have been told that you are expanding your activities beyond the region to the rest of Korea, including this ACC PV.
  Do you, as MisMolly, have anything you want to challenge?

  MisMolly
  We’re honored to win so much attention from not only the Gwangju-Jeonnam region but the rest of Korea through the “Street Dance Girls Fighter” program. Honestly, we still can’t believe it. We want to continue our activities as a representative dance crew of Gwangju and Jeongeup, bring our positive and bright energy to different competitions and performances, build upon that experience to appear and do well in global competitions or contests like “America's Got Talent,” and become a globally renowned dance crew. Our role model is the “Just Jerk Crew,” so we really want to work on a collaborative video or appear on the same stage as them!

MisMolly is a teenage dance crew that goes in different directions. Those who graduate from school leave the team to move on to different activities. Perhaps the reason why the members of MisMolly have so successfully developed themselves over the years through many activities together was because of the team’s endless changes.

As I listened to their answers to the interview, I felt that they had sincere reflections and a deep sense of responsibility for their dance and activities. Despite it being my first interview with a celebrity and not going into much depth, the interview was completed with a sincere attitude. I hope to keep up with their growth and successes. MisMolly’s PV will be opened to the public in November. We can now wait together to see how MisMolly’s playful energy has been woven into the ACC spaces.