Animation is no longer a peripheral genre in contemporary cinema, as it gains ground in the global film industry. Across Asia, animated features topped the box office in both China and Japan last year. Globally, Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters" became a cultural phenomenon. It proved that animated storytelling infused with Korean motifs can captivate worldwide audiences. This global shift will be reflected at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), where animated works are prominently featured across various sections. At the center of this trend is "Long Long Night," an animated feature adapted from a bestselling Korean children's novel. It made history as the first animated title ever selected for BIFF's main competition lineup since the section was established last year. Jung Han-seok, director of the festival, said the selection caught even the festival's program committee by surprise. "This is only the second year we have run the competition section, and an animated film has already made it in," Jung said during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. "This is something we