Busan Comedy Fest

[Anchor Lead]

Comedians are best known for entertaining people with laugh after laugh. An international comedy festival was held in the southern port city of Busan. Today, we will take you to the event.

[Pkg]

Representative Korean comedians have gathered together here. This is the opening ceremony for the fourth comedy festival, an event that is the first of its kind to be held in Asia. The curtain was raised for the festival, which will feature shows by Korean comedians and foreign guests. Kim Joon-ho, a veteran comedian with some 20 years experience on stage, is the executive chairman of the festival.

[Soundbite] Kim Joon-ho(Executive chairman, Comedy Festival) : "There are K-pop and K-drama. So I have always thought that there should be K-comedy. I hope that this festival will help promote it."

Comedian Sonh Eun-e is the director in chief of the festival.

[Soundbite] Song Eun-e(Director in chief, Comedy Festival) : "I am helping the festival with what I know and have learned. I hope that it will be a great tradition for comedians."

The period of the festival has grown from four days to nine days this year. Tickets for some shows are already sold out, proving the high expectations for the festival. There are performances that will surely appeal to foreign fans. A team called "Comedy Monsters" will stage a new type of show that fuses horror and comedy, following its international debut at the Edinburgh Festival in the U.K.

[Soundbite] Song Jun-geun(Comedy Monsters) : "Our show is complete with the participation of viewers. So it is full of variety and fun."

The viewers' expressions show how fun the show is.

[Soundbite] Hong Dong-wan(Viewer) : "It was far more fun than I expected. Viewers' participation was also amusing."

An open-air concert was also held. It is very clear that visitors are having great fun and enjoy themselves.

[Soundbite] "Come to Busan for your last vacation this summer"

[Soundbite] "Seas of Busan! Seas of Laughter!"

The Busan International Comedy Festival will run until September third. The event is expected to create thunders of laughter and relieve visitors' stress.