Hwang Bo-reum, Lee Geum-yi Among Authors in Busan Story Market’s 2026 Selections
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- Busan Story Market (BSM) unveiled 25 official selections for 2026, comprising 15 Korean titles alongside four each from Taiwan and Japan and two from Indonesia, drawing original IP from books, webtoons, web novels, comics, and stories.
- Korean authors Hwang Bo-reum and Lee Geum-yi are among the selections, with Hwang's "My Upstairs Neighbors" and Lee's "Chasm of Sorrow" — the latter from Lee, whose 50+ published books have made her one of Korea's most recognized children's and YA authors — joining the lineup.
- BSM's Korean IP selection drew 138 submissions from 83 companies and yielded 15 titles from 13 companies, with books comprising more than half the Korean lineup across romance, mystery, fantasy, family drama, and sci-fi genres.
- Taiwan's four selections were chosen with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) from four companies spanning books, webtoons, web novels, and comics, each built around a single high-concept premise using fantasy settings to explore emotional terrain.
- Japan's four selections were chosen through the Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO) from four companies — one book and three manga — leaning on layered characters and secrets-driven narratives.
- Indonesia's two comics selections — "War of the Fist" and "World Without Sleep" — earned spots by winning the JAFF Content Market Award Goes to ACFM 2026 after pitching at the 2025 Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival Market.
- BSM runs as part of the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), the official market of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), with the 21st ACFM held Oct. 10-13 alongside the 31st BIFF (Oct. 6-15); the 2025 ACFM generated an estimated $71.1 million across 8,438 business meetings with 3,024 industry professionals from 55 countries.
Why it matters: BSM's 25 selections function as the pipeline for the next wave of Asian screen adaptations, connecting original IP holders to global content buyers across books, webtoons, manga, and web novels. With the 2025 ACFM generating an estimated $71.1 million in transactions across 8,438 meetings, the 2026 lineup — featuring proven commercial author Hwang Bo-reum alongside Hans Christian Andersen finalist Lee Geum-yi — gives Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Indonesian IP holders direct access to that deal flow.
