Guests view an exhibition of Naver Webtoon “Jung-nyeon” through the 2024 BICOF held in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. (Lee Yoon-seo/The Korea Herald)
The 2024 Bucheon Worldwide Comics Pageant, one in all South Korea’s largest comics-related occasions, launched its four-day celebration on Thursday, attracting comics lovers with quite a lot of participating occasions.
Organized by the Korea Manhwa Contents Company, the competition kicked off with a gap ceremony that featured numerous periods, together with the presentation of Bucheon Comics Awards, an annual recognition of standout Korean comics.
The highest honor on the Bucheon Comics Awards went to “Jeong-nyeon,” a widely-read Naver webtoon a few girl’s ambition to develop into an actress in “gukgeuk” — a standard all-female musical efficiency. The sequence has been tailored right into a tvN drama starring Kim Tae-ri and the primary episode is scheduled to air Oct. 12.
“Bucheon will develop into a hub the place cartoon meets music, films, dramas and b-boy breakdancing. It should emerge as a vibrant, artistic area the place creativeness not solely involves life however transforms into one thing even higher,” mentioned Bucheon Mayor Cho Yong-ik, through the opening ceremony of 2024 BICOF held on Thursday.
Guests store for cartoon-related items on the 2024 BICOF held in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. (Lee Yoon-seo/The Korea Herald)
A wide selection of actions, together with exhibitions showcasing webtoons which received awards on the Bucheon Comics Awards, in addition to quite a few cubicles the place guests should buy comics-related gadgets equivalent to collectible figurines, books and toys can be found through the competition interval. Attendees may attempt on costumes and chill out open air studying comedian books.
Worldwide comics market B-COM additionally opened Thursday, bringing collectively international consumers keen on Korean webtoons and facilitating enterprise within the Korean comics and webtoon industries.
“I noticed on social media {that a} items vendor I observe on X opened a sales space right here, so I got here to test it out and purchase merchandise in individual,” mentioned Kim, a 20-year-old competition attendee on Thursday.
“It’s nice that BICOF offers offline alternatives for merchandise sellers, since there aren’t many locations to purchase this stuff in individual,” he added.
A cosplayer on the competition talked about that she got here to BICOF to attach with different cosplayers, lots of whom community on the previous Twitter.
“There are few large-scale occasions the place cosplayers can meet others in individual. I’m right here to take images with well-known cosplayers and put up them on social media,” mentioned a 19-year-old attendee who wished to stay nameless.
Cosplayers pose for a photograph through the 2024 BICOF held in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. (Lee Yoon-seo/The Korea Herald)
On Friday, BICOF is scheduled to host particular occasions, together with a webtoon mentoring seminar and speak reveals that includes Italian cartoonists, in celebration of 140 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy.
On Saturday, the Gyeonggi Worldwide Cosplay Pageant will kick off, the place 30 finalists will compete for the highest prize of 10 million received ($7,505). The competition will shut on Sunday with the Beginner Cosplay Contest and a fan speak present that includes the author and artist of “Jeong-nyeon.”
“Final 12 months, BICOF drew round 120,000 guests all through the occasion, and we anticipate an analogous turnout this 12 months. In truth, I estimate the primary day of the 2024 competition noticed much more attendees than the opening day in 2023,” mentioned an official from KOMACON.
Guests are seen studying cartoons within the out of doors cartoon studying area situated on the 2024 BICOF held in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. (Lee Yoon-seo/The Korea Herald)
The 2024 BICOF runs via Sunday at numerous venues within the Korea Manhwa Museum in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. Admission is 5,000 received per individual, no matter age, however free for these in costume. Tickets could be purchased solely on-site on the competition.