Honorary Chairperson

CHUNG Jiyoung (Film Director)

In June 2016, he was appointed as the 7th Festival Chairman of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN). As the first filmmaker to serve as chairman among domestic film festivals, he led BIFAN¡¯s growth and development over the past nine years. Ahead of filming the Jeju April 3rd-themed film My Name Is, he stepped down from the position and was named Honorary Chairperson in February 2025. 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) 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

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

CHANG Mi Hee

CHANG Mi Hee made her debut in 1976 with the film The Story of Seong Chun-hyang, and has since captivated audiences through 92 works across film, television, and theater. Her representative works include films such as Winter Woman, Home of the Stars 2, Neumi, Flower of the Equator, Deep Blue Night, Hwang Jin-yi, The Country of Fire, and Death Song, as well as TV dramas including Haenyeo Dang-sil-i, River of a Mother, Blue and Red Threads, Eulhwa, Daldongne (Moon Village), History Flows, Six Siblings, Mom Has Grown Horns, Life is Beautiful, and Marry Me Now. CHANG Mi Hee has received numerous accolades including Best Actress honors from the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards, Blue Dragon Film Awards, Chunsa Film Art Awards, Grand Bell Awards, and the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. She has also been recognized with Top Excellence Actress Awards from TBC and KBS Drama Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grand Bell Awards, and a Meritorious Service Award from the Seoul Metropolitan Government?testament to her longstanding popularity and national acclaim. As an author, she published the translated book Making Movies with the Masters (1996), an essay collection My Life Deserves to Be Beautiful (1998), and co-authored The Women Filmmakers¡¯ Case (2001) with Ju Jin-sook and Byun Jae-ran. Her academic and cultural leadership includes serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of Theater and Visual Arts at Myongji College and Director of the Institute for Arts and Physical Education (1989-2021). She also served as a member of the Korea Media Rating Board¡¯s Film Rating Committee (1999-2001), Deputy Chairwoman of BIFAN (2017-2018), Executive Chairwoman of the Goyang International Children's Film Festival (2005-2007), Vice Chairwoman (2002-2005) and later Chair of the Art Film Recognition Subcommittee (2006-2008) of the Korean Film Council, and as a committee member of the Ministry of Science and ICT¡¯s Knowledge Information Resource Management Committee (2005-2007). From 2018 to 2019, she co-chaired the Korean Cinema Centennial Project with director Lee Jang-ho. Throughout her 50-year career, CHANG Mi Hee has made enduring contributions to the advancement of Korean cinema.

Organizing Committee Members

KWON Yeongrak (Korean Film Producers Association, Director), You SeongJun (Director of Bucheon Culture and Sports), KO Hyeongjae (FACO, Bucheon Branch, President), KWON Sunho (Bucheon Culture Center, Director), KIM Jongheum (Bucheon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, President), SHIN Chul (BIFAN, Festival Director / Shincine Communications, CEO), KIM Suna (Dankook Univ. Professor), BAE Jangsoo (BIFAN, Deputy Director), BONG Man-dae (Film Director), Jamie SHIM (Myung Films, CEO), YANG Yunho (Korean Film Association, Chairman), LEE Geumbok (Incorporated Association Korean Film Elders¡¯ Council), LEE Moo-young (Film Director / Dongseo University, Professor), CHOI Yong-bae (Korea National Univ. of Arts, School of Film, TV and Multimedia, Professor), YEOM Yongpyo (Lawfirm Yulchon, Lawyer), OH Dongjin (Film Critic), CHANG Kilsoo (Film Director), CHAI Yoonhee (ALL THAT CINEMA Corp. CEO), KIM Kyoungho (BIAF, Festival Director), BAEK Jonghoon (KOMACON President), TARK Yongseok (Gyeonggi Content Agency President)

Festival Director

SHIN Chul

Shin Chul became the head of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in 2019, and began his third term in 2024. Over the past 30 years, he played a key role in the modernization of the Korean film industry, producing movies like Marriage Story (1992), Lies (1999), and My Sassy Girl (2001). While in 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 Cinema¡¯ at the Cannes Film Festival while working on several projects as his secondary goal as a Korean film producer. Together with all the staff of BIFAN, we are committed to exploring the future of cinema and the evolution of 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.