Comic book lovers from around the globe are beginning to gather in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do Province.

The Bucheon International Comics Festival will run at the Korea Manhwa Museum in Bucheon from Aug. 12 to 16.

Marking its 18th year in 2015, this year’s slogan is “Manhwa! 70 + 30.” Under the slogan, the festival will focus on the standpoint that manhwa, the Korean word for comic books and graphic novels, has taken over the past 70 years on the subject of national independence, and what role it will play over the next 30 years. Since 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of independence, the first “70” part of the festival will be covered by an exhibit titled “Echos of Manhwa, War and Family,” while the “30” part of the festival will be observed through the themed exhibit “Between Utopia and Dystopia.”

This year’s festival will offer more opportunities for visitors to meet their cartoonists first-hand. One of the participating artists at the festival is Yoon Tae-ho who recently won the top-ranked Bucheon Comics Award for his “Operation Chromite" (2014). Fans will also be able to meet other well-known artists, like Huh Young-man, Lee Hyun-se, Jang Tae-san and Kim Pung. Reflecting the growing popularity of online comic books, a special exhibit and program will be set up for webtoon lovers, too.




In the themed exhibit “Between Utopia and Dystopia,” people can take a close look at art that depicts war, with its deep scars and hardships, all of which Korea underwent over the past 70 years since independence in 1945. A total of 15 artists, including Yoon Tae-ho and Lee Hyun-se, will participate in the exhibit. Apart from the themed exhibit, various smaller and larger exhibits will be held on the theme of Korea’s modern history over the past 70 years.

Another interesting exhibit is one of cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo, a French weekly magazine that suffered a terrorist attack in January this year. There is also an exhibit on Korean superheroes that will introduce comics published in Korea about such fantasy friends.

The festival program includes the Korean International Comics Market where buyers from around the world will gather and share the latest trends in the comics industry and sign export contracts for domestically produced works. More than 50 firms from 12 countries will participate in this year’s event.

Academic events, such as conferences and seminars, will also be held as part of the festival. The themes vary, ranging from the latest IT trends in online publishing, business opportunities that connect the 3-D industry and comic books, the issue of copyright, the future of online publishing and range all the way to 4-D animation.

More information about the festival is available at www.bicof.com in Korean and http://www.komacon.kr/komacon_en/cartoon/cartoon.asp in English.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: The Korea Manhwa Contents Agency
arete@korea.kr