Bucheon City Selects Film Director Jiyoung Jung as Recipient of the 4th Culture and Arts Grand Prize

Served as Chairperson of the Film Festival Organizing Committee from 2016 to 2025

Film director Jiyoung Jung (age 79) has been selected as the recipient of the 4th Bucheon City Culture and Arts Grand Prize.

Bucheon City in Gyeonggi Province announced on September 10 that after accepting candidate applications for about a month starting July 16, Jung was chosen as the awardee through a review by the city’s Culture and Arts Committee.

The Bucheon City Culture and Arts Grand Prize is an award established to recognize citizens who have contributed to the development of the local culture. Since its inception in 1983, the award has honored 124 recipients. In 2023, it was elevated in status and has since been operated as the "Culture and Arts Grand Prize."

Jiyoung Jung, Film Director. Provided by Bucheon City

Director Jung served as the chairperson of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Organizing Committee from 2016 to 2025. As the festival’s first private sector chairperson, he was recognized for driving operational changes and enhancing the event's competitiveness.

In particular, he introduced new programs in tune with the evolving film industry environment, including the XR (Extended Reality) section and Korea’s first AI (Artificial Intelligence) film category. He also expanded the festival into a citizen-participatory event, broadening cultural access for the public and contributing to local economic revitalization.

The city explained that, through such efforts, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival has grown into a representative cultural asset of Bucheon, while raising awareness of the city's cultural capacity and urban brand both domestically and internationally.

Yongik Cho, Mayor of Bucheon, stated, “Director Jiyoung Jung has played a major role in driving the transformation and growth of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, greatly elevating Bucheon’s cultural standing. Going forward, we will continue to discover cultural and artistic figures who contribute to our region’s development and widely publicize their achievements and value.”

The Culture and Arts Grand Prize will be presented at the Citizen’s Day ceremony scheduled for October.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.