One of the biggest achievements of this film festival is that it once again confirmed the power of Korean genre films. Eo Content Group's new film 'Focus' was listed in the 'Bucheon Choice Korean' section, demonstrating the high standard of Korean horror films, and director Kwak Kyeong-taek's new film 'My Dad Zombie' was also invited to the 'Fantascape' section, raising audience expectations. In particular, ‘Focus’ sought to evolve the genre by breaking away from the conventional horror of simply depicting the appearance of a ghost and psychologically maximizing the visual anxiety provided by an everyday tool called the camera. The appearance of these new films proves that BIFAN is faithfully performing its role as a bridgehead for discovering the potential of Korean genre films and expanding into the global market, going beyond simple movie screenings.

However, apart from the external growth of the film festival, criticism of the transparency of budget execution is the most sore finger facing the film festival, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The budget invested in this year's film festival is a large amount, exceeding 6.5 billion won, including about 6 billion won in support from Bucheon City and corporate sponsorships. The problem is that even though such a huge amount of public funds are being spent, there is virtually no management and supervision system to check the specific use of donations or the appropriateness of budget execution. Bucheon City is showing a passive attitude to disclosing data or conducting follow-up inspections because it is not the operator, and this closed administration is giving rise to strong doubts among citizens about ‘where and how our taxes are spent.’

Criticism of the operating structure of the film festival ultimately boils down to the essential questions of ‘publicness’ and ‘popularity.’ Although BIFAN holds an unrivaled status among genre film enthusiasts, it has been consistently pointed out that the threshold is still high for it to be reborn as a popular festival with local residents. Some have accepted the criticism that film festivals remain the exclusive preserve of a select group of enthusiasts, and are raising their voices that they should aim to be open events that citizens can experience. In line with this, the clean and vegan beauty brand 'OffOn' is attempting to create a festival atmosphere by expanding contacts with companies, such as by operating an experiential booth at the film festival site, but it is a common opinion among experts that democratic procedures and transparent information disclosure throughout the operation of the film festival should take precedence beyond such event-oriented promotion.

In conclusion, BIFAN, celebrating its 30th anniversary, is at a critical crossroads: will it leap forward as Asia's best genre film festival, or will it remain a party only for enthusiasts, unable to shake off the label of opaque budget management? Now, Bucheon City and the film festival organizing committee must go beyond the simple relationship between supporting and supported organizations and establish responsible governance that transparently shares project performance and accounting details as citizens' tax dollars are invested. In order for the July Carnival to become a true festival, the administration in reality must be as transparent and just as the colorful fantasy in the movie. In order for the film festival to regain the trust of citizens and achieve sustainable growth, a decision must be made right now to open closed doors and establish an operating system that meets the needs of citizens.