Jeonju film festival sees surge in visitors despite funding challenges
Visitors to the Jeonju International Film Festival walk on a street in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, May 5. Newsis
The Jeonju International Film Festival concluded its 10-day run on Friday, once again coloring the North Jeolla Provincial city’s spring season with cinema and reaffirming its identity as the nation’s premier independent and alternative film festival.
The 26th edition saw significant audience engagement, with an average seat occupancy rate of 81.6 percent, marking a 2.3 percent increase from last year’s 79.3 percent, according to the organizing committee.
Out of 586 screenings, 448 were sold out— an increase of 67 sold-out screenings compared to the previous year. Over 70,000 attendees were recorded at official events alone.
Off-screen events also saw significant growth. The Street Screening session, which showcased films in outdoor spaces around the city, attracted around 4,500 people, a roughly 2.5-fold increase in viewers compared to the previous year.
The organizing committee said that the "100 Films 100 Posters" session, a unique side event of the festival where 100 graphic designers created posters for 100 of the films being screened and displayed them throughout the city, attracted around 33,000 visitors — an increase of 4,000 compared to last year.
"Through a diverse array of programs, we were able to achieve our goal of creating an international festival where Jeonju citizens and people from around the world could come together,” actor Jung Jun-ho, who served as a co-director of the festival, said during a press conference wrapping up the festival, Friday.
Director Namkoong Sun, right, in front of the screen, speaks with visitors for her movie “Time to Be Strong” during Jeonju International Film Festival’s Street Screening session at Yeonhwajeong Library in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, May 4. Courtesy of the festival
This year's screenings enjoyed remarkable popularity, with tickets proving exceptionally difficult to secure. The festival hosted 267 program events, including talks with filmmakers and stage greeting events, with 847 guest speakers from the film industry engaging with the audience.
Despite its success, the festival received some negative feedback from visitors about the online-only ticket reservation system, which did not offer on-site sales.
"There were complaints about the elimination of on-site ticket sales and we plan to consider what the best approach is after the festival concludes,” Jang Seong-ho, secretary general of the committee, said. "If the Independent Film House opens next year, we anticipate being able to utilize it from the year after, which should make securing more seats possible."
The festival operated on a budget of 5.6 billion won ($4 million) this year, the same as last year. However, securing this funding was challenging due to a budget adjustment of 150 million won by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
"The KOFIC budget is announced just before the Jeonju International Film Festival begins, and this year, it was suddenly cut by 150 million won. This is a substantial amount in our festival budget," Min Sung-wook, co-director of the festival, said.
"We balanced it out with an increase in city funding, but instead of evaluating on an annual basis like this, we hope that major film festivals like Jeonju, Busan and Bucheon can have a fixed budget allocated on a three or five-year cycle."
The festival also outlined its plans to explore strategies for utilizing streaming platforms in future editions.
"We do not reject streaming platforms. We even presented 'One Day Off' (a series from local streaming platform Wavve) and 'Tastefully Yours' (Genie TV) at special screenings. We are considering various programs related to these platforms," Min said.