Comedians from Korea and abroad, who aim to turn the Busan sea into a sea of laughter, gathered in Busan. The 'Busan Comedy Festival' (referred to as 'BuKoPe'), now in its 13th year, has colored Busan with laughter.
On the evening of the 29th at 7 p.m., the grand opening of the '13th Busan International Comedy Festival' (hereinafter 'BuKoPe'), the largest international comedy event in Asia, took place at the Busan BEXCO Auditorium. For the first time, the event moved from outdoors to indoors, making the start of 'BuKoPe' even more pleasant. Over 2,700 seats sold out early. Couples, friends, and families filled the venue.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Park Myung-soo, who garnered anticipation early on. He noted, "As a comedian, it is an honor and a joy to share this moment with respected seniors and juniors in the hub of Korea, Busan. I was surprised when I was invited to 'BuKoPe,' thinking I would be singing 'The Prince of the Sea.' Busan is my second hometown. I sang 'The Prince of the Sea' at Songjeong Beach. I believe beautiful and happy memories will be created."
Following a fantastic laser show, creator Ralal, known as '58-year-old landlord' Lee Myung-hwa, energetically took the stage for the opening. With a genuine live performance, she brought smiles to over 2,700 audience members and raised the lively atmosphere with witty banter alongside Park Myung-soo. The overseas performance team, Bunktopia, also received enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon said, "It seems that 'BuKoPe' gets more interesting each year. I expect it to be two or three times bigger next year than this year. I believe a city must thrive for the city to succeed. I hope 'BuKoPe' becomes a catalyst for making the citizens of Busan even happier." He declared the opening vigorously.
For this event, the 'Gag Concert' team created a synergy. They prepared a relay of segments including Hwanghae, Sin-gok Police Station, How About Defconn?, Familiar Songs, and Grandma Malja, making the audience in Busan double over with laughter. The audience, who filled the venue, responded with generous laughter and applause for the comedians struggling on stage.
The closing fairy was singer Yoon Su-il. He showcased his sweet voice while passionately singing 'Beautiful' and chose the national song 'APT.' as the ending song. All comedians, including Kim Jun-ho, took to the stage to dance together and cheer on the lively start of 'BuKoPe.' Everyone was thrilled with the perfect ending of 'BuKoPe.'
Meanwhile, the 13th 'BuKoPe' begins its opening performance today, followed by the main theater performances starting tomorrow (30th). A variety of comedic performances crossing genres, such as 'Gag Concert with BuKoPe,' 'I Transferred to Love,' 'Multi-Dialogue @ BuKoPe,' 'Seoul Comedy All-Stars,' 'Ahn Young-mi Show: All-Audience Show,' 'Comedy Association,' 'Byeon Gi-soo's Beach Show,' 'Communication King Malja Grandma Show,' and 'Story Episode,' will color Busan with joy.
In addition to Korean comedy, 52 teams from nine countries, including Canada, France, Japan, Portugal, the United States, Switzerland, Australia, and Sri Lanka, will perform a total of 89 shows. The 13th 'BuKoPe' will take place across Busan from today, August 29 (Friday), until September 7 (Sunday), for ten days.
[Photo] Lee Seok-woo, Reporter, BICF
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