Korean Art Market Sales Surpass 1 Trillion Won for the First Time... 'Art Fairs and Galleries Drive Success'

Ministry of Culture and Arts Management Support Center Estimate Domestic Art Market Size
Art Fair Grows 59.8%, Auction Market Declines 30.9%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Last year, the domestic art market sales in South Korea surpassed 1 trillion won for the first time.

According to the "2022 Art Market Size Estimation Results" announced on the 4th by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Arts Management Support Center, the size of the domestic art market was 1.0377 trillion won, showing a 37.2% growth compared to 756.3 billion won the previous year.

By sector, sales from art fairs and galleries increased, while sales through auctions decreased. The sector with the highest growth was art fairs, with art fair sales growing more than half (59.8%) from 188.9 billion won in 2021 to 302 billion won in 2022.

Supporting this, the number of visitors to art fairs increased by 13.1%, from 774,000 in 2021 to 875,000 last year. The sales figures do not include the revenue from "Frieze Seoul," a global art fair co-hosted with KIAF in September.

Sales through galleries also increased by an estimated 188 billion won (59.8%), from 314.2 billion won in 2021 to 502.2 billion won in 2022.

The number of art auctions last year was 276, an increase of 22 from 254 the previous year. However, sales through auctions decreased by 30.9%, from 338.4 billion won in 2021 to 233.5 billion won in 2022. The art auction market size also showed a declining trend, from 78.5 billion won in Q1 to 66.5 billion won in Q2, 44.3 billion won in Q3, and 44 billion won in Q4. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism analyzed that the global economic recession in the second half of last year affected the market.

This settlement was conducted by the Arts Management Support Center by investigating sales amounts from major distribution channels in the art market, such as auctions and art fairs, and based on this, estimating gallery sales.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to supplement these results by identifying overlapping sales between distribution channels and sales not included in this settlement through the annual art market survey conducted to comprehensively understand the domestic art market distribution status.

Regarding this market size estimation result, the Ministry will reflect it in the new year's art policies, strengthening policy interest in domestic art fairs, which show high sales growth and provide art enjoyment opportunities not only to buyers but also to the general public. Additionally, they plan to actively support participation in overseas art fairs and curated exhibitions so that emerging and mid-career artists and galleries can actively enter overseas markets.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "Although the South Korean art market showed high growth with estimated sales exceeding 1 trillion won in 2022, there are policy difficulties due to a lack of legal and institutional foundations," adding, "To resolve this, the 'Art Promotion Act,' currently pending in the National Assembly, needs to be enacted promptly."