Greetings, my name is Choi Yul, chairman of the SIEFF organizing committee. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Seoul International ECO Film Festival. When films are able to inspire us, the weight of complex issues like climate change and the environ-ment can feel lighter. Right now, nothingcould be more important. With 2,800 films from 130 countries entered into this year’s festival, it is clear that people everywhere are focused on greater sustainability. A sin-gle film can change the world. Thank you for joining us at this year’s Seoul International ECO Film Festival.

Seoul International ECO Film Festival is like a school. When you step out of the class-room and go into the world, you engage in thought-provoking discussions about environmental issues with those around you, continuing to enrich your own under-standing. In my opinion, no education could be more important.
Seoul International ECO Film Festival is also like a living room, where families gather to watch movies about our planet and come up with solu-tions together. For two decades, the Seoul International ECO Film Festival has shown us how environmental issues are everyone's responsibility. It holds a special position as a platform for showing excellent films that put the environment on center stage.
I hope the festival will one day evolve into a sort of chorus, where we all gather together in song to vocalize our advocacy for the planet.

Our humble festival, which began in 2004 by screening films in just three theaters, has grown into one of the world's top three environmental film festivals. We have expanded to include digital theaters, IPTV, public broadcasting, and screenings in school classrooms. Last year alone, our films reached 240,000 students.
This year’s festival will be shared with diverse organi-zations, ranging from local governments, libraries, and grassroots movements to businesses. I am elated by the fact that among 3,000 entries, 70 films will be viewed by more than one million viewers. As three-dimensional texts, environmental films bring ecosystems to life. They serve as a form of media that enables us to collectively envision a sustainable future while taking the initial actions needed to combat the climate crisis together.
See you at the Seoul Inter-national ECO Film Festival from June 5th to June 30th! Ready, Climate, Action 2024!