BNK Busan Bank presents a 50 million won development fund to support the successful staging of the 14th Busan International Comedy Festival on Wednesday. [BNK Busan Bank]
BNK Busan Bank presents a 50 million won development fund to support the successful staging of the 14th Busan International Comedy Festival on Wednesday. [BNK Busan Bank]

BNK Busan Bank presented a 50 million won ($35,300) development fund to the organizing committee of the 14th Busan International Comedy Festival (BICF), Asia's largest comedy festival, at the bank's headquarters on Wednesday.

The sponsorship will go toward ensuring a successful run of the festival, which runs from Aug. 21 through Sept. 10, as well as funding citizen-participation programs and scouting emerging comedians to broaden the local cultural and arts base. Busan Bank has sponsored the festival for 14 consecutive years, starting from its inaugural edition in 2013.

BICF, Asia's first international comedy festival, has consistently grown through diverse content development and the cultivation of local cultural talent. This year's edition plans to deepen the festival's historical significance and artistic value with a commemorative stage marking the centennial of comedian Gu Bong-seo's birth and the establishment of the "Jeon Yu-seong Award" in memory of the late comedian Jeon Yu-seong on the first anniversary of his death.

"It is meaningful to be part of a festival that honors the masters of comedy," Busan Bank President Kim Seong-ju said. "We will continue to sponsor cultural events that represent Busan and contribute to invigorating the local cultural and arts ecosystem as the region's leading financial institution."


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