The Busan Metropolitan City, the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, and the Busan Indie Connect Festival Organizing Committee (BIC Committee) have announced that the 'Public Indie' non-competitive booth programme—specifically tailored for public institutions and schools—has reached its capacity ahead of schedule for the upcoming 'Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 (BIC 2026)', set to take place at BEXCO this August.

Introduced back in 2023, the Public Indie programme is a non-competitive initiative designed to shine a light on public interests and the diversity of our creative ecosystem. The BIC Committee confirmed that they will continue to present the 'Public PICK' award for this category.

This year sees the highest turnout in the event's history, with 16 organisations joining the fray. Each will showcase their unique exhibition concepts and efforts in fostering the creative ecosystem, tailored to their participation tier (Class A to C).

The Class A booths will feature the Seoul Business Agency, the Busan Global Game Center, the Korea Creative Content Agency's Game Talent Institute, the Cheongju Cultural Industry Promotion Foundation, and the Daejeon Information Culture Industry Promotion Agency.

For the Class B booths, we have the Gyeonggi Content Agency Gyeonggi Game Academy, the Jeonju University Immersive Media Innovation Convergence University Project Group, and the Jeonbuk Global Game Center stepping up to the plate.

Finally, the Class C roster is quite extensive, including the Sogang University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Maime Game Jam, Chungnam Content Institute, Soonchunhyang University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Keimyung University Immersive Media Innovation Convergence University Project Group, Kyung Hee University Immersive Media Innovation Convergence University Project Group, Pai Chai University New Technology Innovation Convergence University Project Group, and the Gyeonggi Global Game Center.

BIC Festival 2026 will host its online exhibition from August 7th to August 28th, with the physical event running from August 14th to August 16th at Hall 2, BEXCO Exhibition Center 1 in Busan. The event will feature a packed schedule of exhibitions, conferences, and stage programmes, including the Public Indie showcase. Adieu.