AI Film Festivals in South Korea 2026: KACF Closes Oct 31, Plus Seoul's 2027 Calls

Korea has 14 AI film festivals and contests in our directory, more than any other country except the United States. Most of the big cash prizes, from Gyeonggi, Jeju and the Seoul Design Foundation, closed between June and July, so this page covers the three open calls first and then the full 2026 calendar you can use to plan for 2027. Dates and rules were checked against each festival's FilmFreeway page or official site on October 20, 2026.

Open now: KACF closes October 31

The Korea AI Cinema Festival is the only Korean AI festival with a 2026 deadline still ahead. Its FilmFreeway listing gives an October 31, 2026 regular deadline, notifications on November 30, and festival dates of December 17 to 19 at the Seoul Film Center, 38 Mareunnae-ro in Jung-gu, in the old Chungmuro cinema district.

KACF sells itself on the screen, not the prize. According to the festival, its second edition screened 110 AI films over two days in the Seoul Film Center's large theater, and it claims the highest number of theatrical AI screenings of any Korean AI festival so far. FilmFreeway's key stats for the event list about 450 submissions, 110 projects selected and 28 awards, so roughly one entry in four reached the big screen last time.

There are eight categories: AI Film, AI Music Video, AI Movie Director, Best Animation Short, Best AI Commercial Film, Best Trailer, Film Poster and Screenwriter. Our listing records Gold, Silver, Bronze and a Jury Award in each category, with a Best Picture of the Year chosen from the Gold winners. There is no cash prize. Fees vary by category and are not refundable, even if you withdraw or pick the wrong category.

The rules are short. Submit an online screener only. Any film not in English needs English subtitles or it may be dropped from evaluation. You can enter several projects, and one project can go into more than one category if it meets each one's rules. The jury is led by Jung-Wook Kim, a Korean director and film educator whose short Waiting won Best Film at the Korea Creative Short Film Festival in 1996, and it includes composer and producer Jongmin Ahn for the music categories.

Open now: SIAFF 2027, first deadline November 30

The Seoul International AI Film Festival opened entries for its sixth edition on July 4, 2026. FilmFreeway lists five deadlines: November 30, 2026, then January 31, February 28, March 31 and a final deadline of April 30, 2027. Notifications go out May 5, and the event runs May 30 and 31, 2027 at the enTravel cultural complex, 45 Gangnam-daero 102-gil in Gangnam.

Read the screening rule before you pay. SIAFF says plainly that official selections are not screened on site. The jury picks 10 films to show at the awards ceremony, and only from award winners whose directors attend in person. Winners who come get a trophy or certificate at the ceremony; winners who cannot attend can ask for a PDF certificate. Tickets to the May 30 ceremony, screening and gala cost $40, and a director and audience talk follows on May 31 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.

SIAFF runs around 18 award categories, including AI Film, AI Music Video, Best AI Documentary Short, Best Ultra AI Short, Best First Time Filmmaker AI Short, Best AI Sound Design, Best Student Short and Best AI Commercial Film. FilmFreeway's key stats list about 800 submissions, 100 projects selected and 49 awards. Non-English films need English subtitles, and multiple entries are allowed. If you plan to enter, the November 30 deadline is the one to hit, because FilmFreeway festivals usually raise fees at each later deadline.

Open now: KCAIF 2027, earlybird January 31

The K-Culture AI International Film Festival held its first edition on September 6, 2026 at enTravel in Gangnam. Its second edition opened on FilmFreeway on October 1, 2026, with an earlybird deadline of January 31, 2027, a regular deadline of February 28, a late deadline of March 21 and a final deadline of April 10. Notifications are due April 15, and the festival is set for May 1, 2027, again at enTravel.

KCAIF is run by the Korea AI Film Festival Association (KAIFA). Its founder and chair is Hyo Jeong Shin, an AI film director, and for 2027 it has added Changsik Park, president of the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), to its advisory board. There are 16 categories, including Best Ultra AI Short, Best Beauty Art, Best AI Visual Effects and a student category. Our listing shows fees of $15 at earlybird and $20 after, with $15 for students. Works must be completed on or after January 1, 2025, AI must be a significant creative element, and each entrant can send up to two works, one per category.

One detail for anyone weighing SIAFF against KCAIF: both use the same Gangnam venue, and FilmFreeway names a Jaeyong Choi among the organizers of each, as SIAFF founder and as KCAIF general director. Their category lists overlap heavily. If you can only pay for one, choose by date. KCAIF announces in April and screens May 1; SIAFF announces in May and holds its ceremony May 30.

The free contests with the biggest Korean prizes have closed for 2026

Korea's largest AI film prizes come from provincial governments and public foundations. All of them were free to enter, all paid cash in won, and all closed between June and July 2026.

The Korea AI Content Awards (KAICA), run by Gyeonggi Province, closed July 12, with its new Nam June Paik Special Award extended to July 22. Ajunews reported on September 27 that it drew 1,528 entries from 87 countries and regions, up from 535 in 2024 and 1,105 in 2025. Twenty finalists were chosen for 11 awards. Short films under 30 minutes had to use generative AI in at least two production areas, such as image, sound, dialogue, editing or effects. The new mid-length section, for 30 to 60 minutes, paid up to KRW 20,000,000, and the Paik award paid KRW 8,000,000 for first place. The ceremony ran October 15 and 16 at Lotte Cinema Suwon, with finalist screenings at 31 Lotte Cinema theaters across Seoul and Gyeonggi through October 28.

The Jeju Global AI Film Contest, a pre-event of the Jeju International AI Film Festival, ran from May 28 to July 13. According to VentureSquare, it received 1,185 entries from 101 countries, 275 of them from Korea, and named 23 winners. The grand prize was KRW 20,000,000 and four Best Film awards paid KRW 6,000,000 each. The rule that trips people up: at least 90% of the work, including music, subtitles and dialogue, had to be AI-generated. A separate Jeju IP section asked for films about the Jeju April 3 history or the island's characters. The festival ran September 15 to 17 at the Jeju Arts Center. The previous year's grand prize went to Elliott Orlier of France for Evolution.

The Seoul Design AI Film Festival, from the Seoul Design Foundation, closed June 30. Per its Business Wire call for entries, 10 winners shared KRW 24,000,000, about $18,000, and the grand prize film was screened on the 222-meter facade of Dongdaemun Design Plaza during Seoul Light DDP. Films had to run 3 to 5 minutes.

Busan, Daejeon and the rest of the 2026 calendar

Busan has two AI festivals. The Busan International AI Film Festival (BIAIF), now in its third edition and run from the Busan Cinema Center, closed entries September 11. Our listing shows $22,000 across four awards, led by a $10,000 Best AI Creative Film Award, with screenings at the Busan Cinema Center in early December. A separate event, the Busan International AI Short Film Awards and Showcase (BIAFA), closed May 11.

The other 2026 editions, in deadline order:

Chungkang International AI Genre Film Festival in Icheon closed February 28. It split $10,000 across six awards and ran April 22 to 24.

Daejeon International AI Film Festival closed May 20 and screened July 25 at Daejeon Art Cinema. It required 4K, and its top 10 films went straight into the AI competition of the Daejeon International Short Film Festival in October.

The 2026 edition of SIAFF closed May 31 and held its ceremony June 28.

Gyeongsangbuk-do International AI and Metaverse Film Festival took entries from March 16 to June 30.

KCAIF's first edition closed August 15 and screened up to 10 works on September 6.

Next AI Film Festival was free through a Google Form, closed August 27 and paid KRW 5,500,000 in total, with a KRW 3,000,000 grand prize and about 40 films screened at CGV in Seoul on September 19. International films ran in their own Next Universe section.

Korea also hosted a city edition of the World AI Film Festival. The Korea Herald reported that WAIFF Seoul 2026 ran March 6 and 7 at Lotte World Tower, with its top winners invited to WAIFF Cannes in April. No 2027 Seoul dates have been published.

How to plan a Korean festival run for 2027

The pattern is clear from the dates. Free government contests with cash prizes open in spring and close in June and July. Private FilmFreeway festivals take entries most of the year, charge fees and award trophies and screenings instead of money. If you want prize money, watch for the Gyeonggi, Jeju and Seoul Design calls from May 2027. If you want a theater screening sooner, KACF on October 31 is the last option this year.

Four rules come up at almost every Korean festival. Subtitle every non-English line in English; KACF, SIAFF and Daejeon all require it. Keep a written note of which tools made which parts of the film, since Gyeonggi asks for generative AI in at least two production areas and Jeju asked for 90%. Export a 4K master, because Daejeon required it. And keep a 3 to 5 minute cut ready, the length the Seoul Design Foundation asked for.

None of the Korean festivals in our directory limits you to one tool. Films made with Kling, Runway, Veo, Hailuo, Seedance or Sora all qualify as long as the AI use is real and disclosed.

The contest cards below link to each Korean festival we track. For the rest of the region, see our guide to AI film festivals in Asia. Subscribe at the bottom of this page and we will email you when the 2027 Korean calls open.