Bucheon International Comics Festival Selected as Gyeonggi Tourism Festival for 9 Consecutive Years... 2.1 Million Visitors

The Bucheon International Comics Festival (BICOF), hosted by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, has been selected as a representative regional festival of Gyeonggi Province for the ninth consecutive year.

Gyeonggi Province recently held a regional festival review committee meeting to comprehensively evaluate the planning and content, festival operation, safety management, and ESG-based festival preparation of 30 festivals across 23 cities and counties in the province. As a result, 23 festivals, including the Bucheon International Comics Festival, were selected as the '2024 Gyeonggi Tourism Festivals.' Notably, BICOF achieved the remarkable feat of being selected for nine consecutive years.

The Bucheon International Comics Festival received high praise for its diverse programs that facilitate on-site communication between comics professionals and visitors, such as the exhibition of Bucheon Manhwa Award-winning works, the 'Singing BICOF' creative music festival based on projects supported by the agency, and the BICOF Comics Room.

Since 1998, it has been Korea’s representative comics festival, attracting 2.1 million domestic and international visitors to date, serving as a communication channel for cartoonists, comics industry stakeholders, and comics enthusiasts, and has continuously developed over time.

The 26th Bucheon International Comics Festival 2023
[Photo provided by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency]

The 26th Bucheon International Comics Festival held last September, themed 'Comics, Opening Hearts,' featured exhibitions of Bucheon Manhwa Award-winning works, citizen participation events (caricatures, Opening Hearts), dialogues with artists, and a global comics city network. It was praised for embodying the role and aspirations of the largest international comics festival in Korea. This year, the festival plans to attract visitors with new content that enhances citizens’ cultural enjoyment and promotes coexistence with the local community, allowing participation and enjoyment across all age groups starting from teenagers.

Meanwhile, the Bucheon International Comics Festival was also selected as a 'Preliminary Cultural Tourism Festival for 2024-2025' by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It was recognized for its achievements in promoting regional tourism and economic revitalization, advancing the comics industry, efforts toward ESG management such as minimizing offline promotional materials, and strengthening marketing including expanding overseas participants.

Shin Jong-chul, President of the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, stated, "We will continue to develop various contents for the advancement of the comics industry and the enjoyment of comics by visitors, making the Bucheon International Comics Festival an international tourism product representing Gyeonggi Province."

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