Bucheon International Comics Festival Selected as Gyeonggi Tourism Festival for 7 Consecutive Years... 1.8 Million Visitors

The opening ceremony of the 24th Bucheon International Comics Festival held last year [Photo provided by Korea Manhwa Contents Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Bucheon International Comics Festival has been selected as Gyeonggi Province's representative regional festival for seven consecutive years.

On the 27th, according to the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, Gyeonggi Province recently held a regional festival review committee meeting to comprehensively evaluate 34 festivals in cities and counties within the province through on-site evaluations, safety assessments, and document and presentation reviews, selecting the '2022 Gyeonggi Tourism Festival.'

The Bucheon International Comics Festival received high marks for its challenging attempts such as producing various online festival videos applying non-face-to-face methods, developing cultural products based on comics and webtoons, and focusing on COVID-19 prevention and safety enhancement.

First held in 1998, the Bucheon International Comics Festival has grown into the largest comics festival in Korea, serving as a communication channel for cartoonists, comics industry stakeholders, and comics enthusiasts. So far, 1.8 million domestic and international visitors have attended the festival.

The 24th Bucheon International Comics Festival, held last September, was conducted entirely online under the theme "New Normal, New Connection," featuring 87 diverse ontact programs over nine days. Notably, the cosplay program attracted 110 cosplay teams from eight countries worldwide, demonstrating new possibilities for online festivals.

This year, depending on the improvement of the COVID-19 situation, the festival will be held offline. Building on last year's online festival achievements, it plans to reach visitors through popular programs, festival programs that coexist with local communities, and various comics cultural products.

Shin Jong-chul, president of the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, stated, "The export scale of Korean comics and webtoons is growing at an average rate of 45%, and experts already regard comics as the next-generation Hallyu star." He added, "The Bucheon International Comics Festival will leap forward as a world-class tourism product representing Asia and Gyeonggi Province."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.