The Busan International Comedy Festival (BICF) celebrates its 13th year this year, meeting audiences with a revamped program and differentiated planning.
The 13th Busan International Comedy Festival (BICF), Asia's largest comedy festival, will take place over ten days from Aug. 29 (Fri.) to Sept. 7 (Sun.) throughout Busan. In particular, this year's BICF will significantly upgrade the venue and format of the opening ceremony and expand citizen participation with new programs to broaden the festival's reach. Here are the distinguishing points of the 13th BICF.
# An overwhelming opening performance held indoors!
The opening performance of the 13th BICF will be held at 7 p.m. on the 29th (Fri.) at the Busan BEXCO Auditorium, featuring an overwhelming scale. Famous comedians from Korea and abroad will be present, engaging with the audience through a blue carpet entrance. Additionally, the main MC of the opening performance will be Park Myung-soo, while congratulatory performances will feature '1963-born landlord Lee Myung-hwa', the 'Gag Concert' team, singer Yoon Soo-il, among others.
# Global performances spanning theaters and bustling streets! Collaboration with MICF for two consecutive years.
After the opening, a variety of comedy performances will continue at various theaters across Busan. Moreover, free comedy performances for citizens are also planned in cultural outskirts and busy areas with a high floating population.
In particular, through collaboration with the world's largest Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF), the 'MICF Roadshow with BICF' was held for the first time last year, and this year will again showcase the English stand-up comedy show 'MICF Roadshow Busan' for the second consecutive year. This roadshow, arranged once more for the citizens of Busan who rarely have the opportunity to experience English stand-up comedy, is anticipated to deliver special laughter this year. The BICF plans to resonate with the audience through this performance, further spreading the positive value of laughter.
# 'Autonomous Participation Work (Fringe)' First Introduction! Noteworthy diversity of performances.
This year, the 'Autonomous Participation Work (Fringe)' program, being attempted for the first time at BICF, is noteworthy. In addition to invited comedy street teams, an open call for autonomous participation works was conducted nationwide throughout April, and selected performance teams will have the opportunity to partake in street comedy performances during the festival. The participating fields include circus, mime, puppetry, music, dance, and magic, encompassing all performances centered around comedy, allowing audiences to experience diverse and fresh experimental comedy stages. The combination of various art genres and comedy is expected to open another chapter in expanding K-comedy.
# The second story of the 'Comedy Book Concert'... The real story of Jeon Yoo-seong.
The comedy film festival, which received high acclaim last year, has transformed into a comedy book concert, returning even richer. Jeon Yoo-seong, who is serving as the honorary commissioner of BICF, will present the book concert 'Jeon Yoo-seong's Pick: The Second Story'. During this book concert, Commissioner Jeon Yoo-seong and comedians who wrote the book will take the stage to share various stories and engage with citizens. Audiences will have the opportunity to hear the candid stories of comedians turned authors up close, receiving signatures on the book and sharing special connections. The book concert created by comedy and literature, hosted by the honorary commissioner Jeon Yoo-seong, is drawing attention for what kind of rich encounter it will provide.
Thus, the BICF, which has attracted attention from domestic and international comedy fans every year, is gearing up to continue its reputation this year. Tickets for the 13th BICF performance, which aims to gift laughter to many, are currently available for reservation through NOL Interpark Ticket.
[Photo] Provided by the Busan International Comedy Festival Organizing Committee.
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