Children's film festival director criticizes gov't as funding slashed for this year's event

Lee Hyun-jung, the newly appointed director of the Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival (BIKY), expressed concern over the decision to drop funding for this year's festival.

Lee Hyun-jung, the director of the Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival, speaks during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily at the JoongAng Building in Mapo District, western Seoul, on July 25. [JOONGANG ILBO]

As part of this year's significant budget cuts to film festival support by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), not a single festival dedicated to children or the youth has been selected for Kofic's film festival support program. Lee Hyun-jung, the newly appointed director of the Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival (BIKY), has expressed concern over this decision, stating that it is “sending us back in time.”

“YouTube and short-form content platforms are overflowing with fast-food-like videos,” festival director Lee said. “Telling [children] to turn off their TV and read a book no longer works. Instead, we need to guide children toward beneficial video content. It's unfortunate that public funding for such initiatives is being neglected in this day and age.”

Lee sat down with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, for an interview on July 25 to talk about the current state of children's film festivals in the nation.

BIKY, established in 2006, is the oldest children’s film festival in Korea and also the biggest in Asia. The festival consistently introduced films made by children and teenagers, alongside films and animations that are good for the whole family to watch together.

Children raise their hands during an event at the 19th Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival held from July 10 to 14. [BIKY]

The festival is often considered one of the eight major film festivals in Korea, along with the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan).

This year marks the festival’s 19th edition, which kicked off on July 10 and ended on July 14 in Busan.

Though the festival is close to marking its 20th anniversary, its growth was put to a halt due to Kofic’s budget cuts to domestic film festival funding.

Kofic’s budget for domestic film festivals was cut in half compared to last year, from 5.2 billion won ($3.76 million) to 2.4 billion won. As a result, the number of selected recipients plummeted to almost one-fourth from last year, with only 10 recipients chosen — down from 41 previously.

The recipients included BIFF, JIFF, Bifan and the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival — but not BIKY.

The children’s film festival had annually received some 150 million won in government funding. However, this year was different, as the funding was totally dropped.

An event at the 19th Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival held from July 10 to 14.[BIKY]

Lee, a former YTN reporter and also a film director, who helmed films “Virgin Forest” (2012) and “Night Song” (2016), was appointed as the new festival director in January, aiming to revitalize the festival once again.

“I felt a sense of crisis that a film festival that had operated successfully for 19 years could disappear in the blink of an eye,” she said.

Following the budget cuts toward BIKY, the festival had to scale down this year.

The originally seven-day festival was two days shorter this year compared to previous years. The number of films screened also drastically decreased to 113 films from 34 countries, compared to last year's 163 films from 54 countries.

Lee, who also worked as the principal for BIKY’s film camp for three years, emphasized the positive function of film education for children and adolescents, saying that the filmmaking experiences guide them in a positive direction.

Lee Hyun-jung, the director of Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival, speaks during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily at the JoongAng Building in Mapo District, western Seoul, on July 25. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“I saw students from countries like Italy, France, Mongolia and Korea experiencing cultural diversity after meeting an Indonesian Muslim friend,” Lee said. “I also witnessed a shy girl who was homeschooled in Mount Jiri brighten up, enough to take on a lead role for her film while learning filmmaking for a few days.”

“Such experience gave them the courage and confidence to show what’s inside them. As a creator and a mother, I experienced firsthand and realized that education through films can change a child’s personality and perspective in just a few days.”

Nowadays, children are exposed to numerous platforms filled with content. However, Lee says that it isn’t easy to find good work. Under these conditions, BIKY aims to introduce meaningful content that can serve as the foundation for the development of the next generation.

An example Lee gave was the opening film of this year’s festival, “Echo to Delta” (2023). Directed by Patrick Boivin, the Canadian film centers around a young boy struggling to accept his younger brother’s death and trying to prove that his younger brother was abducted by aliens.

An image of an event at the 19th Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival held from July 10 to 14.[BIKY]

Lee commented on the film, saying, “The film was also praised by brain scientist Jeong Jae-seung.”

Lee also pinpointed Korea’s sad reality of being behind other countries in film education for children and teenagers.

“Children and youth film education do not show a clear result in a short period of time,” Lee said. “But European countries like the Netherlands are showing positive results derived from their film culture policy.”

“It's not too late. Now is the time to thoroughly support K-culture, starting with K-youth.”

BY NA WON-JEONG [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]