Seoul Auction Establishes Art Platform Hype& with Kakao Affiliate

Providing Peer-to-Peer Artworks Trading Function

Seoul Auction, an art auction company, announced on the 26th that it will establish a joint venture C2C (consumer-to-consumer) art trading company called 'HypeN' with Grip Company, a live commerce specialist affiliated with Kakao, and its affiliate Seoul Auction Blue.

Hype&.

HypeN is a community-based art platform targeting individuals interested in and passionate about art, such as artists, influencers, and collectors.

They launched an application (app) on the 12th, providing users with social networking service (SNS) features that allow communication through posts and recommendations. In the future, they plan to sequentially implement commerce functions so that users can directly trade artworks with each other.

Kim Hanna, CEO of Grip Company, will concurrently serve as the CEO of HypeN. CEO Kim is a marketing expert who oversaw Naver Snow's marketing and advertising business and planned the live quiz show Jam Live. Um Jung-woo, director of Seoul Auction who previously served as an auctioneer and director of the art auction team at Seoul Auction, will serve as the chief operating officer.

Seoul Auction explained, "Amid the trend of expanding the base of the art market and the growth of various C2C platforms, we anticipate an increase in individuals interested in free and efficient art trading, which led to the establishment of HypeN."

Kim Hanna, CEO of HypeN, said, "Although direct transactions occur between artists and collectors, and between collectors themselves in the art market, there is currently no efficient and trustworthy C2C platform. We expect HypeN to contribute to the popularization and normalization of art as an SNS connecting people who love art."