Is South Korea establishing itself as the new stronghold of the art market in Asia? From September 6 to 9, the second edition of Frieze Seoul takes place. This meeting of collectors, gallery owners and art lovers highlights the dynamics of the South Korean market, which is now the sixth largest in the world. Many internationally renowned galleries have chosen to settle in Seoul to shine in Asia.
In the alleys of Frieze Seoul, in the heart of the very chic Gangnam district, the bursts of voices in Cantonese, Japanese or Mandarin mix with English and Korean. For this second edition, the world of Asian and global art made the trip. Like Rachel Lehmann, founder of the Lehmann-Maupin gallery, which has had a space in South Korea since 2017.
” First of all, there are very good artists. Then there are the foundations for these artists to earn a living, and good academies, which is super important. All of this allows an artistic scene to emerge. But this development is not very recent, there has been a constant growth over the last fifteen years “, she explains.
Fabien Massicot, co-director of the Art Works Paris Seoul gallery, moved there in 2014, before the arrival of the largest international galleries. ” Seoul has become an international place for the art market. First foreign galleries came to set up shop, but above all Frieze opened its fair in Seoul, which focused the lens on Korean art, so more foreign collectors are interested in our Korean artists. »
A trend which is confirmed at the fair where the French gallery Perrotin has chosen to highlight its local breeding ground. “ We have great South Korean artists, like Park Seo-bo or Shim Moon-seop that we represent. For a long time we have known that Korean collectors were very active, and last year we realized that these young, emerging collectors were growing here. And we think they will be very important for our future and that’s why we continue our expansion here », explains Amy Park, the gallery’s communications manager.
A trend that should benefit artists
After literally exploding in 2021, the art market experienced a clear slowdown in early 2023. In this context, the youth of South Korean collectors makes South Korea attractive, but this trend must benefit artists, recalls Patrick Lee, director of Frieze Seoul.
” When we talk about the very dynamic art market of the young generation of buyers here, we must remember that many of them think that there is only the art market at auction. So I hope that a fair like Frieze can help educate and make some of these young collectors understand that galleries support artists, and that by buying from galleries, we support artists. But this culture is changing, which is very positive. »
With the largest number of private museums in the world, an attractive tax system and sustainable investment from local players, the Seoul art scene seems solid. Many even hope that it will overtake Hong Kong to become the capital of the Asian art market, but others fear that international attention will slow the emergence of young South Korean artists.
Read alsoSamsung family works on display at the National Museum of Korea