Busan's festival calendar just gained three drama premieres that streaming audiences will otherwise wait weeks or months to see. On August 25, 2026, the Busan International Film Festival named the Korean series taking over its On Screen section this October.
What Did BIFF Just Confirm for On Screen 2026?
BIFF confirmed that three Korean drama series will hold their world premieres in the On Screen section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, announced on August 25, 2026 . The three titles are Dead-End Job (Netflix), The Remarried Empress (Disney+) and Blue Road (Netflix), revealed as part of a 12-title Korean-language slate that also filled nine slots in the Korean Cinema Today section . The festival itself runs October 6–15, 2026 .
Quick Answer: BIFF 2026 will world-premiere three Korean drama series in its On Screen section: Dead-End Job (Netflix), The Remarried Empress (Disney+) and Blue Road (Netflix). All three were announced August 25, 2026, as part of a 12-title Korean-language slate. The festival runs October 6–15 in Busan .
The announcement splits neatly by platform: two Netflix originals and one Disney+ title, making 2026 a notably OTT-heavy edition of On Screen and underlining how central the two platforms have become to Korean series production . Each series screens only a portion of its episode order in Busan rather than the full season, so a festival ticket is an early look, not a complete binge.
Geographically, the festival is centered on the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, with additional screening venues in Haeundae and Nampo-dong . For fans mapping out an October trip, that means the On Screen premieres are clustered in Haeundae-gu rather than spread across the city.
Here is the confirmed On Screen 2026 lineup at a glance:
- Dead-End Job (Netflix) — mystery thriller directed by Kim Da-min, with Han Jun-hee as executive producer, starring Lee Jae-wook, Go Min-si, Kim Min-ha and Lee Hee-joon .
- The Remarried Empress (Disney+) — romance-fantasy adapted from the web novel, directed by Jo Soo-won, starring Shin Min-a, Ju Ji-hoon, Lee Jong-suk and Lee Se-young .
- Blue Road (Netflix) — cross-border serial-murder investigation directed by Han Jun-hee, starring Son Suk-ku, Eita Nagayama and Kim Shin-rok .
One naming note worth carrying into ticket searches: Dead-End Job's Korean-language title, 꿀알바 (Kkul Alba), remains its official title in Korea; in earlier trade coverage the production also circulated under separate English working titles, including "Honey Pot Project" and "Perfect Job." Netflix has confirmed Dead-End Job as the series' English title ahead of its Q4 2026 premiere, so treat the earlier working titles as artifacts rather than separate series .
Dead-End Job, The Remarried Empress and Blue Road: Cast, Plot and Release Dates
The three On Screen 2026 titles differ sharply in genre, platform and release timing. Dead-End Job is a Netflix mystery about a part-time job that pays roughly 50 times the normal hourly wage ; The Remarried Empress is a Disney+ romance-fantasy adapted from a web novel; and Blue Road is a Netflix crime thriller built around a cross-border serial murder investigation . Only one of the three has even a reported streaming window so far.
Dead-End Job (Netflix, dir. Kim Da-min)
Lee Jae-wook plays Byeon Hyeok-jun, a debt-burdened young man who accepts work paying about 50 times the standard hourly rate, hired through a shadowy staffing outfit called Spyder Human Resource Center . Lee Hee-joon plays the agency's boss, credited as "Kang-joon," better known by the alias "Mr. S," with Go Min-si and Kim Min-ha rounding out the principal cast . BIFF's programming note describes the series as a mystery set against the backdrop of a suspicious part-time job, blending inventive imagination with reality-rooted storytelling . Kim Da-min directs, with Han Jun-hee — who directs Blue Road elsewhere in this lineup — serving as executive producer .
The order is eight episodes, of which the first four screen in Busan on October 9, 2026, inside the festival's own October 6–15 window; Netflix has pointed to a Q4 2026 (October–December) window for the full series without confirming an exact streaming date . Director Kim Da-min previously wrote the Netflix series A Killer Paradox and directed the festival-acclaimed short film FAQ .
The Remarried Empress (Disney+, dir. Jo Soo-won)
Adapted from the widely read Korean web novel, The Remarried Empress is a romance-fantasy epic starring Shin Min-a, Ju Ji-hoon, Lee Jong-suk and Lee Se-young . Director Jo Soo-won — romanized as Cho Soo-won in some reports — previously directed I Hear Your Voice and Thirty But Seventeen, also translated as Still 17 .
The ensemble delivers "a seamless ensemble performance." — Cineplay, on The Remarried Empress (source: Cineplay, 2026-08)
Disney+ has not announced a streaming date, so the Busan screening is currently the only confirmed way to see any part of the series in 2026.
Blue Road (Netflix, dir. Han Jun-hee)
Announced by some outlets under the working title "Road," Blue Road follows an investigation into the truth behind a cross-border serial murder case, and BIFF programmers flagged its "weighty suspense" . Son Suk-ku leads alongside Japanese actor Eita Nagayama and Kim Shin-rok. Han Jun-hee's film Coin Locker Girl screened in Critics' Week at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and his series D.P. won Best Drama at the 2022 Baeksang Arts Awards . No Netflix release date has been made public.
| Series | Platform | Director | Lead cast | Genre | Streaming date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead-End Job | Netflix | Kim Da-min | Lee Jae-wook, Go Min-si, Kim Min-ha, Lee Hee-joon | Mystery | Festival screening Oct 9; Netflix window Q4 2026 (not confirmed) |
| The Remarried Empress | Disney+ | Jo Soo-won | Shin Min-a, Ju Ji-hoon, Lee Jong-suk, Lee Se-young | Romance-fantasy | Not announced |
| Blue Road | Netflix | Han Jun-hee | Son Suk-ku, Eita Nagayama, Kim Shin-rok | Crime thriller | Not announced |
Two practical takeaways for fans building an October schedule. First, On Screen shows only part of each order — Dead-End Job's eight-episode season only partly screens in Busan — so a Busan ticket is an early look, not a full binge . Second, none of the three titles has a confirmed streaming date yet — Dead-End Job has at least a reported Q4 2026 window, while The Remarried Empress and Blue Road have no reported window at all — so the October 6–15 festival screenings are, for now, the only confirmed way to see any part of the three series in 2026 . Schedules and booking windows are posted on the official BIFF site.
What Is BIFF's On Screen Section?
On Screen is the Busan International Film Festival's dedicated drama-series section, launched in 2021 to give festival audiences an early, big-screen look at the year's most anticipated series before they reach their streaming platforms. Rather than programming a full season, the section typically screens a portion of a show's episode order — for 2026's Dead-End Job, only part of its eight-episode order . The result is a theatrical sampler tied to a platform release that follows weeks later.
That hybrid structure is the defining feature of the section. A title in On Screen is not competing for a theatrical run; it is borrowing festival exposure ahead of a standard streaming rollout. Practically, that means three things for anyone weighing a Busan ticket:
- Partial, not complete. Attendees see an opening block of episodes — enough to judge tone, cast and direction, not enough to resolve a plot.
- Big-screen framing. Series shot for television and phones are projected in festival theatres, which is the main draw for programmers and directors alike.
- Time-limited exclusivity. The gap between the Busan screening and the platform premiere can be days or months, depending on the title.
The 2026 selection also says something about who is making Korean series. All three On Screen titles come from global streamers — two Netflix projects, Dead-End Job and Blue Road, plus Disney+'s The Remarried Empress . There are no terrestrial-broadcaster or domestic-cable entries in the section this year. That mix reflects how central the platforms have become to Korean series production, and how festival programming has adjusted to follow the money and the talent.
It also explains why the directors on the 2026 slate read like a film lineup rather than a television one. Han Jun-hee, who directs Blue Road and serves as executive producer on Dead-End Job, made Coin Locker Girl, which screened in Critics' Week at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and later won Best Drama at the 2022 Baeksang Arts Awards for D.P. . Kim Da-min, director of Dead-End Job, previously wrote the Netflix series A Killer Paradox and directed the festival-acclaimed short film FAQ . On Screen sits at the point where those two career tracks meet: filmmakers working in serialized formats, shown to a festival audience first.
For fans planning around the section, the practical consequence is scheduling. On Screen blocks run long — multiple episodes back to back — so a single title can occupy a substantial part of a festival day, and the sessions have historically sold out quickly once booking opens roughly one to two weeks before the festival .
How to Watch: Festival Screening vs. Streaming Release
There are two ways to see these three series in 2026: book an On Screen ticket at the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which runs October 6–15, 2026 , or wait for the platform release. Festival access is limited and time-boxed; streaming access is open but only confirmed for one of the three titles so far. Booking runs exclusively through the official festival site, biff.kr, which publishes the screening grid and opens reservations roughly one to two weeks before opening day .
If the festival route is the goal, the ticket window matters more than anything else. A short checklist for international fans:
- Do set a calendar reminder for late September 2026 and check biff.kr directly — the English site carries the same schedule and booking flow as the Korean one .
- Do confirm the exact screening venue on the ticket before booking transport. Festival screenings are split between the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City and additional theaters in Haeundae and Nampo-dong .
- Don't count on day-of or rush tickets for On Screen slots. These are among the festival's highest-demand sessions, and the 2026 lineup — two Netflix titles and one Disney+ title — concentrates demand further .
- Don't buy from resale listings or unofficial aggregators. Only biff.kr is the canonical source for schedules and booking .
For fans who cannot travel, the streaming picture is uneven. Dead-End Job is an eight-episode Netflix order; its first four episodes screen at the festival on October 9, 2026, and Netflix has pointed to a Q4 2026 (October–December) window for the full series without confirming an exact streaming date . That means the festival screening is currently the earliest confirmed look at any part of the series, with the full streaming release still weeks to months away.
The Remarried Empress (Disney+) and Blue Road (Netflix) are different. Neither carried an announced release date as of the August 25, 2026 lineup reveal, which covered 12 titles in total — three in On Screen and nine in the Korean Cinema Today section . For those two, the Busan screening is currently the only confirmed date on the calendar, and platform windows may land weeks or months later. Fans tracking either title should watch for platform announcements rather than assume a same-month drop .
One more scheduling note for industry-adjacent visitors: the 21st Asian Contents & Film Market runs October 10–13, 2026, overlapping the festival's second half . If a trip has to be compressed, that mid-festival stretch carries the heaviest concentration of programming.
Where to Experience BIFF 2026 in Busan
The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs October 6–15, 2026, centered on the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, with additional screenings in the Haeundae and Nampo-dong districts . That three-district spread matters for planning: On Screen premieres of Dead-End Job, The Remarried Empress and Blue Road are the kind of large-format events that gravitate toward the Cinema Center's biggest houses, while Nampo-dong — the festival's original home near Jagalchi — hosts a slower, more walkable stream of screenings .
📍 부산광역시 해운대구 수영강변대로 120
⭐ 4.7 (22 리뷰)
🔗 Google Maps에서 보기
The opening film is Kim Jong-kwan's romantic anthology The Table: Day and Night, which sets the tone for a lineup weighted toward Korean-language work . Beyond the drama premieres already announced, BIFF has revealed 23 titles across its Vision sections — 12 in Vision–Korea and 11 in Vision–Asia — giving festival-pass holders a substantial slate to fill the days between headline screenings .
2026 is a structurally different edition from previous years. BIFF gained A-list competitive accreditation under FIAPF's revamped process, placing it in the same tier as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno and San Sebastián, and the top Busan Award now carries direct Academy Award eligibility in the International Feature Film category . In practice, that means heavier international press presence, more competitive credential demand, and a red-carpet schedule that draws crowds well beyond ticket holders.
Three programming strands are worth marking on a calendar alongside the drama premieres:
- Asian Filmmaker of the Year: Michelle Yeoh receives the award this edition, typically accompanied by a public talk or on-stage appearance .
- Camellia Award: Hong Kong director Ann Hui is the recipient, recognizing contributions to women in film .
- Ahn Sung-ki retrospective: Six films screen in tribute to the late actor, a strand that tends to fill fast with local audiences .
For fans building a broader Busan itinerary, the city's live-music calendar has been active through 2026 independently of BIFF — comedian-musician HAHA played his first fan concert since debut at Sohyang Theater in Busan on August 22, 2026, with a Seoul date following on September 13 (video: 뜬뜬 DdeunDdeun) . Concert and festival schedules rarely align neatly, so check both before locking in dates. The official festival site, biff.kr, remains the canonical source for venue assignments and screening times, which are usually finalized closer to the opening date .
Entry Requirements and Festival Etiquette for International Fans
International fans traveling for BIFF 2026 need to settle two things before booking: entry permission for their passport, and screening-day rules that differ from a regular cinema visit. Entry requirements vary by nationality — many visitors require a K-ETA travel authorization or a visa, and the only reliable answer comes from Korea's official immigration guidance for your specific passport, checked before you buy flights or festival tickets rather than after. The festival window itself is fixed: October 6–15, 2026 .
Screening etiquette at On Screen is stricter than casual moviegoing because these are world premieres. Practical rules to plan around:
- Arrive early. Seating is by posted start time; latecomers may be held outside during the opening minutes of a premiere.
- No recording or photography during the screening. This applies to phones, cameras and any capture of unreleased footage — all three On Screen titles are unreleased at festival time.
- Book as soon as ticketing opens. On Screen slots have historically sold out quickly, and booking typically opens roughly one to two weeks before the festival .
- Confirm the venue on the day. Screenings are split between the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City and additional venues in Haeundae and Nampo-dong .
For fans combining the festival with live music, Busan's 2026 entertainment calendar has been active independently of BIFF. HAHA held his first fan concert since debut on August 22, 2026 at Sohyang Theater in Busan, followed by a September 13, 2026 date at Yonsei University in Seoul (video: 뜬뜬 DdeunDdeun) , and 2026 also marks BIGBANG's 20th anniversary since their 2006 debut, observed with an anniversary world tour and the single "BiiiG" . Neither is BIFF programming, so treat concert dates as a separate booking track.
The concrete takeaway: anchor the trip to October 6–15, 2026, the one date range BIFF has confirmed. Streaming dates are softer — "Dead-End Job" screens its first four episodes in Busan on October 9, 2026, with Netflix pointing to a Q4 2026 window for the full series rather than a confirmed date , and a platform window can still shift without affecting the festival. Sort out K-ETA or visa status first, then watch biff.kr for the ticketing window.
Frequently asked questions
When and where is BIFF 2026?
The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs October 6–15, 2026 . Screenings are centered on the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, with additional venues in the Haeundae and Nampo-dong areas . The 21st Asian Contents & Film Market runs alongside it from October 10–13 . Schedules and booking are published on the official site, biff.kr.
Which three Korean dramas are premiering in On Screen 2026?
BIFF announced on August 25, 2026 that three series will hold world premieres in On Screen: "Dead-End Job" (Netflix), "The Remarried Empress" (Disney+) and "Blue Road" (Netflix) . That same announcement covered 12 titles in total — the 3 On Screen series plus 9 more in the Korean Cinema Today section . Note that "Dead-End Job"'s Korean title, 꿀알바 (Kkul Alba), remains in use alongside the English title; the drama circulated earlier under separate English working titles including "Honey Pot Project" and "Perfect Job," and "Blue Road" was listed by some outlets simply as "Road."
When can I stream these shows if I'm not in Busan?
None of the three has a confirmed streaming date yet. "Dead-End Job" screens its first four episodes at BIFF on October 9, 2026, and Netflix has pointed to a Q4 2026 (October–December) window for the full series without confirming an exact date . Platform release dates for "The Remarried Empress" (Disney+) and "Blue Road" (Netflix) had not been announced as of the August 25, 2026 lineup reveal . The October 6–15 festival window remains the one fixed date on the calendar.
What is BIFF's On Screen section?
On Screen is a BIFF section launched in 2021 that gives festival audiences an early, big-screen look at anticipated drama series before they reach their streaming platforms . It typically screens a portion of a show's episode order rather than the full season — only part of "Dead-End Job"'s eight-episode order is set to screen at the 2026 edition . The 2026 slate is streaming-heavy: two Netflix titles and one Disney+ title.
Do I need a visa to attend BIFF as an international fan?
It depends on nationality. Travelers from visa-waiver countries generally need a K-ETA travel authorization rather than a visa, while others must apply for a standard short-term visit visa; requirements and fees change, so confirm current rules with Korean immigration authorities before booking flights. Festival attendance itself requires no accreditation for general audiences — ticket purchases through biff.kr are open to the public, and On Screen screenings historically sell out quickly once ticketing opens roughly one to two weeks ahead of the October 6–15, 2026 dates .
Is there anything else happening in Busan around the festival?
Busan's live-entertainment calendar has been active through 2026 beyond the film festival. Comedian-musician HAHA held his first fan concert since debut on August 22, 2026 at Sohyang Theater in Busan, followed by a September 13, 2026 date at Yonsei University in Seoul (video: 뜬뜬 DdeunDdeun) . 2026 also marks BIGBANG's 20th anniversary since their 2006 debut, observed with an anniversary world tour and the single "BiiiG" . These are separate from BIFF ticketing and require their own booking.
Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to get new stories by email whenever they're published.
This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
