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Busan Indie Connect: First Korean Indie Convention Scheduled for September

BIC Fest featured image

Busan Indie Connect logo

The Korean Connection

Busan Indie Connect (or BIC Fest, for short) is Korea’s first indie games convention. Taking place September 10th through 12th in Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, the convention will bring together Korean and international developers and fans for networking parties, presentations and game exhibitions.

Though perhaps best known for its e-sports presence in games like the Starcraft series or League of Legends, South Korea has a massive audience for video games in general. With less than half the population of Japan, it has almost double the Steam traffic.

Busan Indie Connect, scene from convention floor

BIC Fest aims to capitalize on this audience by featuring top Korean indie developers like Youngchae Kim of OddOne Games, whose multiplayer open-world sandbox game Tree of Life is currently in Early Access on Steam, alongside international studios like 17-Bit (best known for Skulls of the Shogun). Kelly Wallick, president and founder of Indie MEGABOOTH, will also be a keynote speaker; her organization showcases and advocates to raise the profile of small developers.

Exhibitions, Awards and Parties

In addition to keynote speakers and over 100 games across a number of different platforms – including console, PC, mobile, virtual reality and board games – BIC Fest has scheduled a number of different events to help connect indie studios with one another and with their audience.

Welcome party BIC After Dark will feature an outdoor showcase of games played on massive screens. Developer networking event Indie Heaven will combine Korean street food with 10 short presentations from developers. The conference will conclude with an award ceremony.

Busan Indie Connect, After Dark party

BIC Fest is anticipating 1,000 attendees from the public over each day of the convention, and local media, including print newspapers and top Korean gaming websites and streamers, will be covering the event giving amazing lol coaching. To further encourage indie studios to participate, the conference is offering free accommodations for all exhibitors.

The deadline to submit an exhibitor application is coming up on August 7th, however, so interested studios should submit their applications as soon as possible.