South Korea’s longest-running art fair is also one of its youngest in feel. While wealthy collectors in their 50s and early 60s often wait for the fall’s Kiaf-Frieze Seoul, newer collectors led by the MZ generation have been turning out for the spring Hwarang Art Fair. Major galleries lowered the entry barrier with more works by midcareer and emerging artists, while bringing in pieces rarely seen by the public.
According to the Korea Galleries Association on April 9, about 4,500 people visited on opening day the previous day, down from about 6,000 a year earlier. Even so, the turnout was viewed as better than expected given external uncertainty such as war in the Middle East and a spike in oil prices.
“Galleries had major concerns because global conditions are unstable due to war and other factors,” a Korea Galleries Association official said. “But we saw better-than-expected results, with long lines from the entrance on opening day.”
Hosted by the Korea Galleries Association, the Hwarang Art Fair is in its 44th edition and is the country’s oldest art fair. This year’s event, running through April 12 at COEX in Seoul, is the largest yet, with 169 galleries participating.
Galleries said they aimed to differentiate the fair from Art Basel, held recently, and from Kiaf-Frieze scheduled for September by emphasizing fresh works from established midcareer and emerging artists, encouraging first-time buyers to purchase without feeling priced out. On opening day, interest was spread across blue-chip, midcareer and emerging names.
An official at Kukje Gallery said visitors showed strong interest in works by emerging and midcareer artists such as Lotus Kang and Jang Pa, and focused on pieces that are hard to see in Korea or being shown publicly for the first time, including Julian Opie’s tile work and a 1955 work by Ahn Kyuchul. The official added that inquiries continued for scarce works even if they were not blue-chip, and that couples and young married visitors were touring booths regardless of whether they planned to buy.
The association also pointed to a shift in public attitudes toward collecting. A Korea Galleries Association official said perceptions of owning art became more positive after special exhibitions of the Lee Kun-hee Collection in 2021-2022, helping spread the idea that art can be purchased and held, not only viewed, and accelerating younger people’s entry into the market.
Some in the market are also looking for a trickle-down effect. At a recent Seoul Auction sale, a work by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara sold for 15 billion won, setting a record for South Korea’s art auction market, fueling expectations that more beginners will enter and look to midcareer and emerging artists.
Jung Tae-hee, head of Seoul Auction’s auction business team, said the market has been confirming “stable fundamentals” as the sell-through rate recovered to the 70% range since the second half of last year. He said news of the record price has prompted novice collectors to seek works they can afford, increasing interest in midcareer and emerging artists, and he expects the positive trend to broaden after the first half of this year.
Risks tied to Middle East tensions and other factors have increased caution, but many in the market do not see them as enough to reverse the overall direction. Jung said high inflation was largely anticipated, and that a weaker won has instead drawn overseas collectors’ attention to Korea’s auction market, with the share of foreign bidding rising. He added that while shipping costs are a burden, relatively lower prices are expanding interest in both overseas and Korean artists from Europe, the Chinese-speaking world, mainland China and the United States.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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