'AGF 2026', South Korea's premier animation and gaming festival, has courted controversy two months ahead of its opening.
The controversy erupted when it was revealed that generative AI was used in a teaser video posted to the official X (x.com) account by the AGF Organizing Committee on October 6. A small note at the bottom of the video reads, "This video was produced using AI." Fan communities have responded coldly to the fact that an event intended to gather anime fans entrusted its own flagship promotional video to AI.
Following the video's release, social media and online communities were flooded with expressions of disappointment. A primary complaint was that an event with "animation" in its name—well aware of most anime fans' aversion to AI—chose to use AI anyway. Critics argued that AGF, of all events, should not have taken this route, with many expressing frustration over using AI for promotional videos despite charging substantial ticket prices.
The backlash from fans is hardly an overreaction. AGF is an event where fans gather to consume content crafted by human creators, including anime, games, light novels, and virtual YouTubers. Its main audience consists of people who spend money out of love for the work of illustrators and animators—the very group most sensitive to unauthorized training of generative AI and creator job security. Yet an event catering to this fandom chose AI over human creators for the video that serves as its first impression, leaving fans feeling betrayed.
The organizing committee's own past statements have come back to haunt them. At the press conference for last year's 'AGF 2025', the committee acknowledged AI as an inevitable trend of the times, yet drew the line by stating that the emotion delivered through stories and characters belongs to the human domain. They added that AGF would remain a 'human-centered' festival. However, by opening this year's event two months ahead of schedule with an AI-generated teaser video, they brought controversy upon themselves.
AGF expanded its scale last year, surpassing 100,000 attendees for the first time. This year's event will be held from December 4 to 6 at KINTEX Exhibition Hall 1 in Ilsan.
