Jong Hyeok Lee, "Jurisdictions: South Korea",In-Depth: Art Law (The Art Law Review), Edition 5(2025.2).
<Introduction >
The Korean art market continues to experience steady growth both quantitatively and qualitatively. According to the latest statistics from an affiliated body of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 806,597 artworks were traded in the Korean art market in 2022. As at 2022 there were 831 galleries in Korea and 8,437 exhibitions were hosted in Korea, which saw the participation of 34,556 artists. Through galleries, 27,019 artworks were sold, generating a total sales value of approximately 450.64 billion won. In 2022, there were 12 auction houses, which conducted a total of 562 auctions, marking a significant decrease from the 1,0616 auctions held in 2010. These auctions sold 20,150 artworks, amounting to 234.52 billion won in sales. That year also saw 71 art fairs, featuring 19,624 participating artists and selling 56,561 artworks, which generated 305.23 billion won in sales, while attracting a total of more than 1 million visitors. Further, 282 museums were in operation, purchasing 2,808 artworks for a combined investment of 28.45 billion won. The Korean art market continued its expansion in 2023 and 2024, seeing growth in both scale and vitality. As a representative example of this robust growth, Kim Whanki's Untitled 3-V-71 #203 was sold for 5 billion won at Seoul Auction's ,contemporary Art Sale on 29 March 2024.
Jong Hyeok Lee, "Jurisdictions: South Korea",In-Depth: Art Law (The Art Law Review), Edition 5(2025.2).
<Introduction >
The Korean art market continues to experience steady growth both quantitatively and qualitatively. According to the latest statistics from an affiliated body of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 806,597 artworks were traded in the Korean art market in 2022. As at 2022 there were 831 galleries in Korea and 8,437 exhibitions were hosted in Korea, which saw the participation of 34,556 artists. Through galleries, 27,019 artworks were sold, generating a total sales value of approximately 450.64 billion won. In 2022, there were 12 auction houses, which conducted a total of 562 auctions, marking a significant decrease from the 1,0616 auctions held in 2010. These auctions sold 20,150 artworks, amounting to 234.52 billion won in sales. That year also saw 71 art fairs, featuring 19,624 participating artists and selling 56,561 artworks, which generated 305.23 billion won in sales, while attracting a total of more than 1 million visitors. Further, 282 museums were in operation, purchasing 2,808 artworks for a combined investment of 28.45 billion won. The Korean art market continued its expansion in 2023 and 2024, seeing growth in both scale and vitality. As a representative example of this robust growth, Kim Whanki's Untitled 3-V-71 #203 was sold for 5 billion won at Seoul Auction's ,contemporary Art Sale on 29 March 2024.