Soojeong Ahnwas keen to host cultural events as a means of strengthening a sense of local identity in the city.
Indeed, the BIFF grew out of a desire among the local community for a wider recognition of
Busan. It was a branding exercise, prompted by the municipal government, the local media, and
of course the festival organizers (Ahn 2012, 38). However, what is not well known is that the
city government had initially planned the BIFF as a temporary event. After a successful bid in
1995 to host the 2002 Asian Games, the first international event to be held in the city, the Busan
government wished to generate a new, nonindustrial image for the city, and sought to realize this
aim in part by organizing an event to precede the games. Thus, it is hardly surprising to learn
that the first BIFF was accompanied by an event called “Asian Week,” which acted as a promo-
tional event for the Asian Games and the successful Segyehwa process in Busan. These twinned
events opened and closed on the same day (Jang 1996, 29).^9 Although the original plan to make
it a one-off event was quickly dropped after the unexpected success of the first BIFF, the local
government initially only considered this cultural event as supporting the sports event, rather
than as a noteworthy stand-alone event. In fact, local governments across South Korea at the
time pervasively excluded events that didn’t instinctively fall under the economically oriented
Segyehwa (Ahn 2012).
From industrial port city to cinematic metropolis
The economy of a city is intertwined with the rise of the international film festivals they host,
which aids in securing local revenue (Stringer 2001). Festivals in cities can stimulate low-season
tourism that help to justify the local subsidy on which most festivals depend. They also provide
jobs for local citizens, and increase the overall satisfaction of city residents (Swann 2001, 88).
The BIFF’s establishment in Busan and the city’s urban economy reflect the changing function
of culture, which became an increasingly important commodity for entrepreneurs. For instance,
when the BIFF was established, there were intense discussions concerning the economic benefit
to be gained from hosting an international film festival. These highlighted the rapid increase in
BIFF-related tour packages, including transportation, accommodation, and tickets to films dur-
ing the festival. Typical media headlines publicizing the enterprises included “Movie Lovers Get
a Chance to Tour Busan and Attend the Film Festival,” (Korea Herald 1998) and “Five-Star Hotels
in Busan Fully Booked Due to the Special Procurements of BIFF” (Cha 1998). Kim Joo-Young,
a journalist for a national mainstream financial newspaper, Maeil Business News Korea, calculated
the economic impact of the BIFF on Busan: “With a budget of just 25 billion won, the BIFF
secured revenues of 250 billion and significantly contributed to the local economy of Busan”
(Kim 1999).^10 When viewed from this angle, culture has become more and more significant to
the meaning and function of cities, as they increasingly diversify commercial opportunities in
order to stay competitive in a global economy (Jancovich, Faire, and Stubbings 2003, 21).
The BIFF seems to share a similar historical experience with many European film festivals,
such as those in Berlin and Rotterdam. Both European cities were heavily bombed during World
War II, while Busan suffered extensive damage during the Korean War. Moreover, the three
cities carried out prestigious cultural projects to enhance their credentials as future economic
and cultural capitals of Europe and East Asia. Like many cities that have endeavored to become
hubs, the trio strove to revive their local economies through cultural ventures (Ahn 2012, 49).
From a regional perspective, it is important to note that the rapid growth of modern Asian
cities is linked to Asian regionalism or Asian cosmopolitanism (He and Brown 2012, 429). Koichi
Iwabuchi stresses the role of globalized capitalist modernity, which was significant in exploring
the meaning of being Asian in the 1990s (2002, 200). It is among urban places, and in particular
global cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Taipei that today’s interconnections—forged