Outsider

Grandmaster YK Kim: TaeKwonDo Rockers vs. Cocaine-Dealing Ninjas (1x1)

: 12, 2016

Forty years ago, YK Kim came to America from Korea and built a martial arts empire in Orlando. Now, he offers self-help seminars and martial arts classes to help empower his devoted followers. In 1987, Kim decided to channel his passion for martial arts into filmmaking and recruited his students to be the cast and crew of his amateur action movie,Miami Connection.The film—which follows a taekwondo synth rock band as it battles a gang of drug-dealing motorcycle ninjas—was a flop in the 80s and ultimately left Kim bankrupt. Today, however, it's become cult classic. In the inaugural episode of OUTSIDER, VICE meets Grandmaster YK Kim and investigates the story behind the fall and rise of this unlikely masterpiece.