The curtain rose on the second Busan International Comedy Festival (BICF) on August 29 at the Busan Cinema Center, in Haeundae-gu, Busan. This year's slogan is, "Smile is Hope." Participating comedians from Korea and abroad brought to the audience laughter and mirth with their wide range of acts and shows.

Instead of the red carpet common at film festivals, comedians walked to the stage along a long blue carpet, already putting on a show as they entered the arena. Hwang Sin-yeong in a white dress performed a brave tumble and Heo An-na and Kim Hye-seon, also in beautiful dresses, struggled as they escorted a gigantic Transformer. Adding to the show, Yoo Min-sang and Kim Jun-hyun had a Coke speed drinking competition.

They shared laughter and humor with the audience, with various performers dropping their well-known buzzwords by which they have gained popularity over the past few years.




A wide variety of performances and comedy programs were held during the weekend. Ong-als, a popular comedy troupe, did an excellent imitation of little kids with runny noses. The Gag Concert team received rave reviews with an adaption of one of its popular current TV skits. In addition, this year's festival invited 12 teams from seven countries, including Australia, the U.K. and Japan.


Tape Face from the U.K. put on a non-verbal comic performance on August 30. With his lips taped closed with black electrical tape, Tape Face mimed to funny melodies. The Moriyas Bangbangbigaro team from Japan, who appeared in yellow traditional outfits, performed a cycling and juggling routine, driving the audience to bursts of laughter. Beky Hoop from Canada showed off its outstanding hula hoop skills, spinning a few dozen at once. The 6D team from Australia shot a short film with the audience and uploaded it to YouTube as well as to its own homepage.






Kim Jun-ho, head of the organizing committee and also a comedian, said, "We will work to make this region a sea of laughter. Humor and joy are to be shared with people all across the globe."

Performances took place at the Busan Cinema Center, the KBS Hall, the Yenoso Theater at Kyungsung University, at the Cultural Hall in the Shinsegae Department Store and at the Busan Citizen's Park Dasom Yard.

By Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr
All photos courtesy of the Busan International Comedy Festival