The 22nd Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF), led by Festival Director CHANG Hangjun, concluded its six-day run on Sep 8. This year the festival brought film screenings, performances, talks, exhibitions, and audience events to venues throughout downtown Jecheon, drawing wider participation from citizens and audiences alike. Film admissions rose, invited guests from Korea and abroad grew roughly 2.8-fold from last year, and programs pairing filmmakers with audiences expanded significantly — further cementing JIMFF's identity as a city-center festival built around film and music.

This year, the festival screened 189 films from 51 countries across 165 screenings, expanding both the scale and diversity of its film program. Korean and international works spanned the International Music Film Competition; the International Competition; Music InSight, the competition for music directors of Korean feature films; New Talent Showbox, the competition for emerging Korean film composers; and the all-night screening program Nocturne Special. Screenings were concentrated in the city center around Jecheon Culture Theater, improving accessibility for audiences, and seat occupancy reached 73%. Both the opening and closing ceremonies sold out, with audiences turning out through the festival's final day.

Encounters between filmmakers and audiences grew markedly. A total of 247 guests were invited this year — 204 from Korea and 43 from abroad — an approximately 2.8-fold increase from last year's 88 (74 Korean, 14 international). Program events pairing audiences with filmmakers, including post-screening conversations, Talk to You, Audience Workshop: The Life of a Film, Showcase, Hidden Track, and Musicscape, totaled 82 sessions, up from 50 in 2025.

In a rare pairing for Korean cinema, directors PARK Chan-wook and BONG Joon-ho visited Jecheon on the same day to meet audiences. PARK Chan-wook took part in a post-screening conversation with music director CHO Youngwuk, whose score for No Other Choice was selected for Music InSight, the festival's competition for film music. The two have collaborated on film and music for more than two decades, since Joint Security Area, but this marked the first time they had discussed film music together in public.

The same day, BONG Joon-ho joined Talk to You, moderated by director KIM Chohee, screening Time of the Gypsies by Emir KUSTURICA — a film he has called the most important of his life — for the audience, and recounting his history with the work, from his first viewing to meeting KUSTURICA in person at the Cannes Film Festival. Elsewhere, screenwriter CHUNG Seokyung, production designer RYU Seonghie, and writer-director CHEON Myeongkwan took part in Audience Workshop: The Life of a Film, new this year; TWICE's DAHYUN, Samsan, and Shin in Ryu appeared in Showcase; and writer KIM Eunhee and comedian MOON Sanghoon joined Music Shelter — further expanding the programs that put directors, composers, and other creators in direct conversation with audiences.

189 Films, 165 Screenings: Wider Competition Lineup and
More Screens Drive Attendance Growth

Strengthening the film program and competition lineup helped drive the growth in attendance. This year, the former International Competition was reorganized into the International Music Film Competition, sharpening the festival's focus on music and musicians, while a newly launched International Competition introduced new films from around the world without restriction on genre or subject. Together with Music InSight, for music directors of Korean feature films, and New Talent, for emerging film composers, the change broadened the film program's reach across music films, world cinema, and the work of film composers alike.

The screening environment and audience flow also improved. Jecheon Culture Theater (formerly Megabox), the main venue that reopened last year after remodeling, expanded from four screens to seven, giving the festival a sturdier base for handling its full lineup and schedule. Major programs such as screenings and audience conversations were concentrated around Jecheon Culture Theater in the city center, with performances, exhibitions, and audience programs running nearby so audiences could move between them easily. Together, the wider competition lineup, additional screens, and city-center layout drove both higher attendance and a higher seat occupancy rate.

‘ From One Summer Night to One Summer Dream:
Music Across Downtown Jecheon

Performance programs also brought citizens and audiences together at Jecheon Arts Center OPEN & SUMMER SQUARE and across downtown Jecheon. The festival's signature concert, One Summer Night with K-POP Season 2, featured FTISLAND, Crush, LEE Seungyoon, SE SO NEON, Soran, MONSTA X, and RESCENE, while One Summer Dream, a free outdoor concert for Jecheon's citizens and audiences, brought Koyote, CHAE Yeon, No Brain, and LEE Sungwook (R.ef) to the stage. With JIMFF Busker performances unfolding across the city as well, everyday spaces in Jecheon turned into stages for the length of the festival.

From 4,879 to 10,848: OST Fair Attendance Rises 122.3% from Last Year

The growth of OST Fair, held in and around Salon de Yeobyeoncho, stood out this year. The fair drew 10,848 visitors, up 122.3% from 4,879 last year. Through spaces including OST Store; Still, Still, an exhibition of unreleased stills from Korean films; Music Shelter; and JIMFFNIC Lounge, it offered LPs, CDs, and film- and music-related merchandise alongside exhibitions, talks, showcases, and hands-on programs — inviting audiences to experience film and music in a range of formats.

Still, Still drew visits from filmmakers including directors PARK Chan-wook and BONG Joon-ho and actor YOO Jitae, while the talk program Music Shelter sold out completely. Now in its second year, OST Fair has more than doubled its attendance, growing into a space where audiences linger and experience the festival beyond its screenings and performances.

Korean and International Guests Up 2.8-Fold:
A Festival Built on Filmmaker–Audience Encounters