The Korean Sound and Music Hall (CEO Lee Seung-pil) has been selected as the final host venue for the ‘2027 KoCACA Art Festival’, the nation’s largest performing arts distribution platform organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea National Council of Culture and Arts Centers.

The ‘KoCACA Art Festival’ is a major performing arts market in South Korea where representatives from culture and arts centers, art troupes, and companies related to performance venue equipment and services gather in large numbers to promote performance distribution and information exchange. In particular, next year's event holds special significance as it marks its 20th anniversary, and culture and arts professionals and visitors from all over the country are expected to visit Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, raising expectations for bringing vitality to the local culture and arts scene.

The Korean Sound and Music Hall was selected as the final host venue in this open competition in recognition of its expertise in successfully hosting numerous large-scale culture and arts events based on its differentiated performance planning capabilities and excellent infrastructure.

Through hosting this art festival, the Hall plans to promote Jeonbuk's outstanding culture and arts capabilities nationwide. In addition, as more than 5,000 workers from culture and arts centers and performing arts-related organizations across the country, private art troupes, and general visitors are expected to visit Jeonju during the event period in June 2027, it is expected to significantly contribute to revitalizing local tourism and the economy.

Lee Seung-pil, CEO of the Korean Sound and Music Hall, said, "The national culture and arts community The 29th Bucheon International Animation Festival opens on the 18th... Bucheon City to jointly grow the cartoon and webtoon industries Held from the 18th to the 20th around the Korea Manhwa Museum under the theme of 'Cartoons and Webtoons Are Easy and Full' Cosplay, webtoon industry, and international exchange in one place... Rich exhibition and experience programs Cho Yong-ek, Mayor of Bucheon: "Bucheon will leap forward as a city where cartoons, webtoons, and industries grow together"

Bucheon City is holding the ‘29th Bucheon International Cartoon Festival (BICOF)’ for three days from the 18th to the 20th around the Korea Manhwa Museum.

This year's festival theme is 'Cartoons and Webtoons Are Easy and Full' (translated literally from the Korean pun '만만합니다', meaning both easy/comfortable and full of sights). It carries the dual meaning that anyone can easily and comfortably enjoy cartoons and webtoons, and that they are full of things to see.

In particular, this year has grown the scale and significance of the festival by presenting the 10th Gyeonggi International Cosplay Festival (GICOF), the International Comic Congress (ICC) celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the Gyeonggi International Webtoon Fair together. By adding cosplay contests, webtoon business, and international exchange programs to existing exhibition- and experience-oriented events, it has added richness as a ‘festival within a festival’.

Based on the identity of ‘Cartoon City Bucheon’ built through BICOF and abundant cartoon infrastructures such as the Korea Manhwa Webtoon Agency, Korea Manhwa Museum, and Webtoon Convergence Center, Bucheon City plans to grow the cartoon and webtoon culture and content industry ecosystem together.

◇ GICOF Celebrating its 10th Anniversary... Domestic and Foreign Cosplayers Gather in One Place

A notable part of this festival is that the Gyeonggi International Cosplay Festival (GICOF) is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Having grown into a festival where domestic and foreign cosplayers and fans interact together over the past 10 years, GICOF has further broadened the scope of participation by preparing professional contests and various experience programs this year.

On the 19th of this month, the ‘GICOF Championship’ will be held at the screening hall of the Korea Manhwa Museum. Fifteen teams from 14 countries, including the United States, Thailand, the Philippines, Nordic countries, and newly joining Greece and Italy this year, will participate to showcase cosplay stages highlighting the individuality of each country.

On the 20th, the ‘Amateur Cosplay Contest’ and the children's participation event ‘Kids Cosplay Runway’ will follow. In addition, there will be the ‘GICOF Photo Show’ to take pictures with domestic and foreign cosplayers, ‘One-Day Classes’ to learn cosplay costumes and expression methods, and a ‘Cosplay Past Exam’ enjoyed while wearing Hanbok.

At the 1st floor of the Korea Manhwa Museum, the ‘GICOF 10th Anniversary Exhibition’ will also run from the 18th until the 18th of next month, looking back at the records of the past 10 years through photos.

◇ Webtoon Industry and Global Exchange Come to Bucheon... Adding Content City Competitiveness

The ‘Gyeonggi International Webtoon Fair’, which was previously hosted by Gyeonggi Province and organized by the Gyeonggi Content Agency at KINTEX in Goyang, has moved its venue to Bucheon this year and will be held at the Webtoon Convergence Center from the 17th to the 18th.

This is an industrial event where domestic and foreign cartoon and webtoon companies and buyers meet. Last year, 97 domestic and foreign buyers and 102 domestic companies participated. As it is held during the same period and in the same space as the Bucheon International Cartoon Festival this year, synergy with the cultural festival is expected.

International exchange programs are also abundant. The International Comic Congress (ICC), celebrating its 30th anniversary, will hold meetings and networking events on the 18th with standing committee members from countries such as Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. Starting on the same day until the 18th of next month, the international special exhibition ‘Connection’, shedding light on the history of Asian cartoon exchange with 16 works from 8 regions, will also be held.

Artist exchanges commemorating the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France are also notable. On the 20th of this month, French graphic artist Ebin Landru and author Kim Keum-sook of the graphic novel ‘Grass’ will engage in a dialogue on the themes of creation, memory, and history.

Author Ebin Landru is the first participating artist of the ‘Villa Bucheon Culture and Arts Residency’ promoted by Bucheon City, and will showcase about 40 works, including those produced during her stay in Bucheon, at Kkumbara on the 2nd floor of the Korea Manhwa Museum until the 15th of next month.

◇ From Cultural Festivals to Growth Foundations Connecting Content Industry and Local Economy...

Exhibitions are also prepared in various ways. The special exhibition ‘Murim’ will spotlight the charm of the martial arts genre centered on 2025 Bucheon Cartoon Award winners, including Moon Jung-hoo and Ryu Gi-woon's ‘Asura’. Winners such as the 2026 23rd Bucheon Cartoon Award grand prize work ‘Top-Tier Providence’ can also be met. In addition, 49 winning works from the National Student Cartoon Competition and an exhibition of ‘Our Neighborhood Cartoon Characters’ set in Bucheon have been prepared.

Participatory programs that citizens can directly enjoy are diverse. Visitors can rest while reading cartoons at the Outdoor Cartoon Cafe and Hanok Cartoon Cafe, and the BICOF Playground will also operate, featuring cartoon and webtoon OST contests, cartoon busking by Bucheon regional university student clubs, retro arcades, caricature experiences, and goods and cultural experiences.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the festival next year, the ‘29+1 Wish-Wall’ to hear citizens' opinions will be established. If visitors leave the authors and programs they want to see, it will be reflected in future planning.

◇ Beyond Cultural Festivals as a Growth Base Linking Content Industry and Local Economy

Bucheon City plans to refine the BICOF, which marks its 30th anniversary next year, so that citizens can enjoy it close by, and grow it into a representative cultural content platform connecting creation and industry, tourism and local commerce.

Bucheon City has established bases where creators and companies can operate, such as the Korea Manhwa Webtoon Agency, Korea Manhwa Museum, Webtoon Convergence Center, and Cartoon Business Center. As of early September, 102 teams, 559 writers, and corporate officials have moved into the Webtoon Convergence Center and Cartoon Business Center, and sales as of 2024 amount to approximately 49 billion won.

As cartoons and webtoons are representative intellectual property (IP) industries that can expand into other content fields such as dramas, movies, animations, games, and characters, the city plans to support not only providing creative spaces but also discovering excellent IPs, commercialization, business-to-business cooperation, and overseas market entry.

Cho Yong-ek, Mayor of Bucheon, said, “The Bucheon International Cartoon Festival is a representative cultural festival that has built the identity of ‘Cartoon City Bucheon’ by growing together with citizens for 29 years.” He added, “With the 30th anniversary next year as an opportunity, we will develop it into a platform that brings joy to citizens and new opportunities to creators and companies.”

He added, “Bucheon City will meticulously prepare a support system ranging from creation to commercialization and market entry so that cartoon and webtoon culture and industry can leap forward as a core hub where they grow together.”

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