Who are the best hip-hop dancers in the world? A growing consensus in the global hip-hop community points to Korean b-boys—the just-completed second annual global invitational hip-hop dance competition, called R16, was held in Seoul, South Korea, and as many had predicted, a Korean crew won the compeition. What makes this surprising fact even more astonishing is that hip-hop culture is only about a decade old in Korea. Writer JEFF CHANG went to Seoul for R16 and joins us to discuss the history of hip-hop in Korea.

The 31st edition of the Asian American International Film Festival opens this week in New York, and features a lineup of features and documentaries that includes new films by Wayne Wang and Oscar-winning documentary maker Jessica Yu. We sit down with festival director SONJIA HYON for a preview of the festival. And we’ll be joined by filmmaker RISA MORIMOTO, whose remarkable new documentary about kamikaze fighters includes interviews with pilots who survived their failed WWII missions.

Through close interviews, archival footage, and animation, Morimoto complicates the image of the kamikaze as fanatical patriots, revealing that hundreds of kamikaze pilots in fact survived their missions. Their stories provide a poignant look at the desperation of a nation which sent its youth on suicide missions. Interweaving personal experiences with the larger historical narrative, Morimoto examines the moral decisions these men grappled with.

On July 1st hundreds of protestors in Mongolia attacked the headquarters of the dominant political party and charged into the national art gallery. The government responded by calling for a four-day state of emergency and by shutting down television and radio stations. The protests left five dead and many more arrested. The opposition party says the June 29 election was rigged. International observers say the polling stations had no evidence of misconduct. The standoff marks one of the most serious challenges to Mongolia's fledgling democracy in nearly two decades. We are joined by DR. MORRIS ROSSABI, whose recent book, Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists, explores the issue of democratic change in the country.