d+a | Issue 127 • 2023

88 design and architecture #127 design Korea. Yoon also told The Korea Times that “more foreign buyers are inquiring about Korean artworks and buying them over the last few years”. Gladstone and Thaddaeus Ropac are among the international galleries that established foreign outposts in Seoul last year. According to a 2020 survey conducted by the Korea Arts Management Service, there are about 300 galleries and counting, just in Seoul alone. Emma Son, senior director at Lehmann Maupin’s Seoul gallery, told The New York Times that it is “long overdue that people recognised Seoul, Korea, as an art hub”. The gallery, which first opened a smaller showroom in 2017, moved into a two-storey space this year. Gone are the days when Korean art only garnered lukewarm interest in the global art market. The country’s increasing global cultural footprint has in turn brought about interest in and demand for fine art. Korean art has also consistently performed well at international auctions in recent years. Christie’s Hong Kong has seen “more collectors and buyers asking about the artworks from Korea”, a spokesman says. At Art Basel Hong Kong in May 2022, Kukje (Below) The inaugural Frieze Seoul held over a period of three days in September 2022 drew a 70,000-strong crowd. (Facing page) Seoul’s Arario Gallery is dedicated to discovering and promoting Asian artists, including South Korea’s Noh Sangho. and Tourism, sales surpassed 1 trillion won (USD782 million) in for the first time in 2022, mainly from artworks being purchased from galleries and at art fairs. And this figure has yet to include the revenue from the inaugural Frieze Seoul, which comprised over 120 exhibitors. taking shape: the art scene South Korea’s capital is a unique entity whose synergistic infrastructure is a perfect incubator for artistic development and exchange, which is why the city’s art scene is rapidly heating up. Built upon a network of talented artists, museums and galleries, Seoul’s vibrant art market is what drew Frieze’s first Asian venture there, shares board director Victoria Siddall. Hong Kong having to take a back seat in view of its political atmosphere and the effects of the prolonged pandemic has also contributed to Seoul’s art market being catapulted into the international limelight. Yoon Hyun Sik, head of sales at Seoul Auction, observed that while a number of art galleries are pulling out of the Hong Kong market, many international galleries are opening up or adding branches in South