Jeonju International Film Festival

Jeonju International Film Festival, or JIFF, is one of South Korea's most important platforms for independent and alternative cinema. Founded in 2000, the festival built its identity around discovery, formal risk, and a programming culture that keeps first-time directors and adventurous work in the center of the conversation.

The 27th edition, held from April 29 to May 8, 2026, showed that role at scale. JIFF programmed 237 films from 54 countries, including 78 world premieres, and spread the event across key city venues such as CGV Jeonjugosa and Megabox Jeonju Gaeksa. A tribute to Ahn Sung-ki also gave the 2026 edition a clean bridge between heritage and discovery.

That balance is why JIFF still matters. In a Korean screen market often dominated by platform scale and franchise logic, Jeonju remains the yearly pressure point for what independent Korean cinema, regional exhibition, and international festival culture can still push forward.