The fourth edition of Frieze Seoul (3-6 September) comes at a challenging time for both the international art market and galleries operating in South Korea. However, a nascent new era of cautious optimism seems to be unfolding in the Korean art world, just in time for Frieze Seoul.
The fair will once again welcome around 120 galleries to the Coex convention centre in Gangnam, an upscale neighborhood in Seoul. As usual, mega-galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, David Zwirner and White Cube will have a presence. The fair is also welcoming around 20 brand-new exhibitors this year, including 10 Chancery Lane Gallery and de Sarthe from Hong Kong, The Breeder from Athens, Carvalho from New York, Make Room from Los Angeles, and Ota Fine Arts from Tokyo. Still, more than 40 galleries are not returning, including Karma, Mariane Ibrahim, Michael Werner and Neugerriemschneider, all of which took part last year.
South Korea has undergone a roller-coaster of events since the last edition of the fair, even by the dramatic global standards of 2025. In December 2024 South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, a move that was immediately suspended by an emergency national assembly session and followed by months of widespread protests ending with his impeachment and removal from office. Rocky negotiations over new American tariffs were further complicated by a rotation of interim leaders before the June elections of new President Lee Jae Myung from the Democratic Party of Korea. All this came amid an ongoing economic downturn in South Korea, with the upheaval only sharpening social divisions along generational, regional, gender and class lines throughout society.
‘Climate of uncertainty’
“The political turbulence since last December created a climate of uncertainty,” says Emma Son, a Seoul-based partner of Lehmann Maupin, a gallery based in New York that first opened in the South Korean capital in 2017. “Since the June election, however, conditions have begun to stabilise, and following the latest tariff discussions with the United States, there is a growing sense that we are now on a steadier path toward a more optimistic future.”
Seoul has not escaped the worldwide art market contraction that has been underway since 2023. The dynamic is hardly surprising “given the broader macroeconomic environment—including slowed real estate activity, global inflation concerns and regional uncertainty”, according to Sunghoon Lee, the president of the Galleries Association of Korea. However, the downturn has not erased the demand built in South Korea’s art market over the previous few years, he adds.
Tokyo-based Kosaku Kanechika gallery will be showing the work of mostly Japanese artists at the fair
Courtesy of Frieze and Lets Studio
“Seoul has built too much momentum to reverse entirely,” Lee says. “There is a sense that the market is entering a holding pattern; the foundation built in recent years is strong enough to prevent collapse, but there is still an unease that lingers over both political stability and broader economic conditions.”
South Korean collectors are also eager for exposure to new work. Long focused on Korean and Western artists, they are now turning to artists from Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, according to Son, who attributes the shift in large part to Millennials and Gen Z coming into their own as collectors.
Seeking authentic cultural narratives
Lehmann Maupin’s stand at Frieze Seoul will feature a range of diverse works to reflect those changing tastes. The gallery will offer new and significant work by Korean artists like Kim Yun Shin, Anna Park, Do Ho Suh and Sung Neung Kyung, as well as international artists like Teresita Fernández, David Salle, Lari Pittman, Tammy Nguyen, Cecilia Vicuña and Tom Friedman.
“Their tastes tend to favour artists with strong conceptual grounding and authentic cultural narratives—rather than purely market-driven appeal,” Lee says of younger South Korean collectors. “We’re entering a more mature phase—one that prioritises sustainable growth over short-term speculation. And that’s ultimately a healthier direction for the market.”
• Additional reporting by Carlie Porterfield
