The world-famous British Art fair 'Frieze' is landing in Korea. Frieze Seoul will be held at COEX in Seoul from September 2nd to 5th this year along with KIAF, the largest art fair in Korea. In particular, Frieze art fair will be held for the first time in Asia.

Frieze is called one of the ‘three major art fairs in the world’ along with Art Basel in Switzerland and FIAC in France. Frieze, led by prestigious British galleries, reigns supreme as the best art fair in the British&United States.

The Galleries Association of Korea, the official Korean partner of Frieze, said “As the world’s best galleries present their artworks, Seoul can attract attention as the center of world art. Opportunities for Korean artists to advance to the international stage will also increase,” he said.

Frieze officials also said, “Seoul is an optimal city for holding a Frieze as there are great artists, galleries, art galleries, and collections. This exhibition will make a special week that confirms that Seoul is a vibrant city of art.”

The arrival of Frieze in Korea means that the global art market has begun to pay attention to the Korean market. In fact, according to the recently released '2021 Intelligence Report', Seoul was included as one of the top 7 cities that will lead the world art market in the next 10 years. The report positively evaluated that Seoul has a geographical advantage as it is located in the center of the Asian stage, and that it has the largest international airline line, so it has good accessibility for visitors.

Perhaps for this reason, world-famous galleries have already opened branches in Korea and are targeting the Asian market as well as the Korean market.

Last year, European prestigious galleries such as Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery and Koenig Gallery in Germany opened branches in Seoul. This year, the Peres projects in Germany, Gladstone Gallery in USA will open branches in Seoul.

Recently, Hauser & Wirth in Switzerland and Sprueth magers in Germany, which are called the world's three largest galleries, are also considering opening a branch in Seoul.
Baek Hae-young said, “The size of the Korean art market is only about 500million dollar a year, but if the Frieze is successfully held this year, the size will soar to 1~2 billion dollar. In addition, Korea will succeed Hong Kong, which has served as a hub for the Asian art market.”

However, on the other hand, there are also uncomfortable views about the landing of these leading foreign galleries and art fairs in Korea. It is argued that the status of Korean galleries and artists may be at stake.

Regarding this, Director Baek said, "I had the same concerns in other art fields such as Korean films, dramas, and music when foreign contents first came to Korea. However, Koreans overcame such difficulties in a short period of time with their unique tenacity, effort, and creativity. And now korean contents are leading the world market. It will be the same in the art field.”

Sayart.net / Maria Kim sayart2022@gmail.com