'Comics, Opening Hearts' The 26th Bucheon International Comics Festival Opens on the 15th of Next Month

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The Bucheon International Comics Festival, the largest comics festival in Korea, will be held from October 14 to 17 around the Korea Manhwa Museum in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, under the theme "Comics, Opening Hearts."

On the morning of the 24th, Shin Jong-chul, President of the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (center), gave a greeting at the press conference for the 26th Bucheon International Comics Festival held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. From the left, the attendees are Choi Won-hyuk, Festival Project Team Leader, President Shin, and Yoo Soo-hoon, General Director. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 24th, Shin Jong-chul, president of the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, said at a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, "This year's festival focuses on highlighting various marginalized groups in society and the healing process that embraces them," adding, "Through comics, we aim to open people's hearts, soothe the wounds of modern individuals, and create a festival where all forms of discrimination and conflict can be set aside."

The festival will open on September 14 with a creative music festival inspired by comics. Guitarist Ham Chun-ho and singer Kwon Jin-won will serve as judges. This stage was planned to emphasize the 'one source multi-use' strategy of comics, which extends not only to films and dramas but also to music.

The Bucheon Manhwa Awards, announced alongside the festival, also attract attention. The grand prize winner, The Family of a Gambling Addict (by Lee Hajin), depicts the story of an individual stock investor who becomes a gambling addict and the family surrounding him, based on the author's experience. The newcomer award-winning work, Jonathan's Voice (by Jung Haena), addresses homosexuality within Christian society, while the overseas work award winner, The Silence Factory (by Sandrine Revel and Th?a Rosenman), deals with the issue of child sexual abuse.

At 11 a.m. on the 24th, Shin Jong-chul, the director of the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, gave a greeting at the press conference for the 26th Bucheon International Comics Festival held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The 26th Bucheon International Comics Festival will be held from Thursday, September 14 to Sunday, September 17 around the Korea Manhwa Museum.
[Photo by Korea Manhwa Contents Agency]

President Shin explained, "As society becomes increasingly brutal, how to open hearts, communicate, and heal is an important theme in our society."

This year's festival features various programs involving domestic and international experts. At the 'Global Comics Network' event, Nicola Picato, director of the Lyon Comics Festival; Claudio Curcio, director of Napoli Comicon; and Kurata Yoshimi, director of the Japan Cartoonists Association, will attend to discuss cooperation plans for comics networks across different countries.

At the World Webtoon Forum on generative artificial intelligence (AI), discussions will focus on the changes AI will bring to webtoon education and creation systems, as well as the future landscape of convergent webtoon creation. The K-Comics Academy seminar 'Youth Moonlight' offers an opportunity to meet Kim Botong, author of D·P, and Namon, author of Jeongnyeon-i.

During the festival, the 7th Gyeonggi International Cosplay Festival finals will also be held. As Korea's only international-scale cosplay festival, it will feature over 60 cosplayers from 15 countries worldwide, adding to the festival's excitement.

At a press conference for the 26th Bucheon International Comics Festival held on the morning of the 24th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, Yusoohoon, the general director (from the left), Shin Jongchul, president of the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, and Choi Wonhyuk, festival project team leader, are taking a commemorative photo with the festival mascot 'Mandeoki' and cosplayers. Photo by Korea Manhwa Contents Agency

The 'Caricature, Opening Hearts' program is a citizen participation event where hopeful participants who send stories about those they cannot be with?such as deceased parents, estranged acquaintances, or pets?bring photos, and caricature artists draw pictures of the participants together with those individuals. General director Yoo Su-hoon said, "Through caricatures that reunite participants with those they can no longer meet, we hope participants open their hearts and connect within the festival space."

Due to the aftermath of last year's controversy over the nationwide student comics contest winning work titled 'Yoon Seok-yeol Car,' the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education have withdrawn their sponsorship for this year's festival. Regarding this, President Shin stated, "Since we are an organization affiliated with institutions, we cannot protest just because sponsorship is withdrawn, but we are a public institution with no partisan nature," emphasizing, "This year, we plan to restore trust in these areas and strive to create a festival that everyone can participate in."

The agency announced that this year's nationwide student comics contest is proceeding according to schedule. Following recommendations from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and expert consultations last year, the judging criteria excluding political, sexual, and violent content have been removed. They added that presenting political works as subjects for exclusion was decided due to concerns that it could constitute prior censorship. The winning works of the nationwide student comics contest, whose judging will begin next week, are expected to be exhibited on the second floor of the Manhwa Museum as in previous years.