A comic book and graphic novel-themed festival will kick off at the Korea Manhwa Museum in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, on July 27.

The Bucheon International Comics Festival will mark its 19th run this year and focus on the “Future of Comics in 2030.” The festival wants to give comic lovers a chance to anticipate what comic books and graphic novels will look like in 2030, an art form that has been vastly transformed over the past few decades, from hand painting and printed strips through to online comic books.

As part of the festival, a conference will bring together representatives from the Brussels Comic Strip Museum, France’s La Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image and the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Together, the experts will share their ideas on systems and policies that could be put in place in the comics industry.

An exhibition will cover works by 22 cartoonists from Korea and France, under the theme of, “The Future of Comics 2030.” This exhibition also marks the “Year of Korea-France Bilateral Exchanges.”

“Since 2003, Korea and France have increased human, cultural and industrial exchanges through comic strips and graphic novels,” said Culture & Content Professor Han Sang-jeong from Sangji University who directed the exhibition. “Comic books are a form of expression that use art, as well as a good resource for business. Comic books serve as an appealing language that can be used to understand different aspects of each nation, as well.”




There's a lot more to come, too, throughout the five-day festival. Yoon Tae-ho, who draws one of the nation’s most well-known online comic strips, “Misaeng" (미생), will have his own exhibition. There will be a Webtoon Exhibition that sheds light on a select set of Chinese online comic strips, some from Manhua, one of China’s biggest comic magazines, and others from Tencent’s QQ, one of China’s leading platforms that deliver online comic strips.

Another exhibition will focus on the life and art of Charles Schulz, the father of world-famous beagle Snoopy. Works created by ten of Korea’s major cartoonists, as well as some by some well-known female artists, will be under the spotlight, as well.

Finally, the Korean International Comics Market will crack new markets for both Korean and non-Korean animated content, allowing buyers from around the world to have one-on-one consultations with Korean comic producers and artists. This event will feature representatives from six leading Chinese companies, including China Unicom, one of China’s biggest telecommunications operators, representatives from the France-based Delitoon, Europe’s first-ever online comic platform, and representatives from Comico, one of the biggest Japanese online comic book and graphic novel platforms.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: organizing committee of the Bucheon International Comics Festival
jiae5853@korea.kr