BIFAN

Organization

Festival Organizing Committee

Chairperson of Organizing Committee

CHO Yong-eek Mayor of Bucheon City

Cho Yong-eek majored in law. In 1995, he opened his law office in Bucheon and served as a representative lawyer for the law firm Kyros. Later, he served as advisor to the Bucheon City Council and vice chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea’s policy committee. At the Moon Jae-in government, he served as executive officer of the Presidential Secretary's Office for Political Affairs at the Blue House and as a policy advisor to the Presidential Committee on Autonomy and Decentralization. On July 1, 2022, he took office as the 23rd Mayor of Bucheon City, heading the administration of Bucheon City. In 2023, he became Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Organizing Committee. Together with Chung Jiyoung, chairman of the organizing committee, Cho Yong-eek is leading the film festival.

Chairperson of Organizing Committee

CHUNG Jiyoung (Film Director)

Chung Jiyoung majored in French literature and made his debut with Mist Whispers like Women (1983). He produced and directed feature films like A Street Musician (1987), North Korean Partisan In South Korea (1990), White Badge (1992), Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid (1994), Blackjack (1997), Unbowed (2011), National Security (2012), BLACK MONEY (2019), The Boys (2023). and the yet-to-be unreleased The Boys. He also produced and directed 10 episodes of the TV drama series Best Theater. Chung Jiyoung took a lead in defending the screen quota system and revising the ‘Promotion Of The Motion Pictures And Video Products Act’. In 1992, he won the Tokyo Grand Prix and the Best Director Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for White Badge, and in 1994, he scored the FIPRESCI Award at San Sebastian International Film Festival for Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid. He served as chairman of the Korean Association of Film Art and Industry and professor at the Korea University Graduate School of Media & Communication. He is a member of the National Academy of Arts

Organizing Committee Members

KWON Yeongrak (Korean Film Producers Association, Director), OH Simyeong (Director of Bucheon Culture and Economy), KANG Yujeong (Critic / Kangnam University, Professor), KWON Sunho (Bucheon Culture Center, Director), KIM Jung hwan (president of Bucheon Cultural Foundation), KIM Jongheum (Bucheon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, President), PARK Kyung Sin (Lawyer / Korea University Law School, Professor), PARK Gyeong hee (principal of Gyeonggi arts high school), PARK Hyeonbok (Convergence Exchange Meeting, Bucheon Branch, President), BAE Jangsoo (BIFAN, Deputy Director), BONG Man-dae (Film Director), SHIN Chul (BIFAN, Festival Director / Shincine Communications, CEO), Jamie SHIM (Myung Films, CEO), YANG Yunho (Korean Film Association, Chairman), YE Ji-won (Actress), OH Eunryeong (FACO, Bucheon Branch, President), YOOK Junghak (Korean Association of Film Critics, President), LEE Geumbok, LEE Moo-young (Film Director / Dongseo University, Professor), CHO Seong-ha (Actor), CHOI Yong-bae (Korea National Univ. of Arts, School of Film, TV and Multimedia, Professor), TAE Seungjin (president of Bucheon Art Center) PYEON Jang-wan (Korea National Univ. of Arts, School of Film, TV and Multimedia, Professor)

Auditors

KIM Changsik (Jeongdong Tax Accounting Office, Accountant), PARK Seonggyu (Lawfirm Dabida, Lawyer)

Executive Committee

Festival Director

SHIN Chul

Shin Chul became the head of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in 2019, and began his second term in 2021. He was instrumental in the modernization of the Korean film industry, producing movies like Marriage Story (1992), Lies (1999), and My Sassy Girl (2001). While in Fox With Nine Tails (1994) and The Gingko Bed (1996) computer graphics were used for the first time in a Korean movie, My Sassy Girl is widely recognized as the film that started the Korean Wave with its explosive success all over Asia, followed by remakes in Hollywood, China, and other Asian countries. This success led to an influx of new talents with fresh visions into the Korean film industry. Shin Chul is regarded as the producer who started the new golden era for Korean cinema. His success triggered major Korean companies to invest in the Korean film market. In order to cope with the rapid changes the global film industry is facing, he proposed to start a discussion on "redefining film" at the Cannes Film Festival while working on several projects as his secondary goal as a Korean film producer. In 2022, BIFAN established the ‘Series Film Award’ and the first work that was awarded was Squid Game. In order to continue the discussion how to "redefine film," the topic of the upcoming BIFAN edition has been set as "Movie Plus." Together with the entire crew of the festival he is focusing his efforts on seeking the evolutionary direction of future films and film festivals.

Deputy Director

BAE Jangsoo

Bae Jangsoo majored in journalism. He worked as a film reporter for the Kyunghyang Shinmun and was appointed as the managing editor of the Kyunghyang Shinmun Sports Khan (now called Sports Kyunghyang) and the president of the Korean Association of Film Critics. He also published Cine Talk Cine Click (2001), a book that examined problems in the film industry, and executive produced an indie film titled Moonlight Gymnastics 2015 (2018). He had a cameo role in about 60 Korean movies, like Love is Oh Yeah!, Rosy Life, The Taebaek Mountains, How To Top My Wife, The Gingko Bed, Push! Push!, 3pm Paradise Bath House, Peppermint Candy, My Sassy Girl, My Wife Is a Gangster, My Boss, My Hero, Chihwaseon, Low Life, Radio Star, Secret Sunshine, Public Enemy Returns, Unbowed, National Security, Flu, Unforgettable to name a few. Bae Jangsoo is the executive director of the Korean Film Producers Association, a steering member of the Filmmakers Task Force to Secure Diversity in Film and Eliminate Monopoly, the Preparatory Meeting for Legislation for the Structural Improvement of the Film Industry, and the Filmmakers Emergency Policy Forum where he pays close attention to screen monopolies and support for independent/art films and strives to secure diversity in the Korean film industry.

Executive Committee Members

Stanley KWAK (INDIESTORY, CEO), KIM Young (Producer/MIRU Pictures, CEO), KIM Byeongin(Screenwriters Guild of Korea, President), KIM Wonkuk (Hive Media Corp., CEO), KIM In Suk (Unity Korea, CEO), LEE Yoonjung (Director/ Directors Guild of Korea (DGK), Vice President), LEE Changsea (Far East University, Dept. of Film and Television, Professor), CHUNG Minyoung (Duksu Law Offices, Lawyer), CHO Yangil (ShinCine Communications, Director), CHO Eunhee (Hansol Soo Book, CEO), CHOI Nagyong (Korean Arthouse Cinema Association, President), CHOI Junghwa (Producers Guild of Korea, President)