Frieze Seoul 2026 concluded on September 5 at COEX in Seoul, marking the fifth edition of the fair. More than 130 galleries from 30 countries and regions participated, while over 70,000 visitors attended across four days.
Collectors and art professionals came from 54 countries and regions, representing the broadest international reach in the fair’s history.
According to Frieze, sales reflected the full breadth of the market, ranging from accessible works by emerging artists to major works by Korean modern masters and internationally established blue-chip artists. One of the most notable transactions was the sale by Kukje Gallery of a 1971 painting by Yoo Youngkuk for a reported KRW 2.2–2.5 billion, approximately USD 1.6–1.8 million. The result was the highest price recorded for a Korean artist in the five-year history of Frieze Seoul.
Korean galleries reported strong results across several generations of artists. Johyun Gallery placed a series of new bronze and charcoal works by Lee Bae for between USD 40,000 and USD 140,000 each, with several entering international collections. Gallery Hyundai sold five works by Kim Tschang-yeul and three works by Seung-taek Lee, with prices reaching USD 1.1 million and USD 700,000 respectively. The gallery reported total sales of more than USD 2.3 million. Hakgojae Gallery also placed works by Lee Joon, Song Hyun-Sook, Chae Rimm and Kim Eun Jeong.
Younger Korean artists also drew strong market attention. Jason Haam sold a work by Moka Lee for USD 200,000, a notable price for a young Korean artist. BB&M sold out all works by Lee Bul presented at its booth, priced between USD 195,000 and USD 290,000, with additional collectors joining a waiting list.
Major international galleries likewise reported significant sales. Hauser & Wirth placed Rashid Johnson’s 2025 work Soul Painting “Interiors” with a major Korean institution for USD 1.2 million. Thaddaeus Ropac sold a painting by Adrian Ghenie for USD 1.1 million and a cast-iron sculpture by Antony Gormley for approximately USD 1 million. Almine Rech reported sales of a Lee Ufan painting and a George Condo work on paper, each priced between USD 1.25 million and USD 1.5 million. Pace Gallery sold a Yoo Youngkuk painting priced at USD 1.1 million.
Gagosian placed significant works by Damien Hirst with notable collections, including an important museum in Asia. White Cube sold a Georg Baselitz work for EUR 800,000 and a Gerhard Richter painting for EUR 625,000, along with two works by Park Seo-Bo for USD 300,000 and USD 190,000. David Zwirner reported sales led by works by Yayoi Kusama and Giorgio Morandi, as well as pieces by Gerhard Richter, Alice Neel and Ruth Asawa.
Activity was not limited to the top end of the market. Mid-market and emerging-artist sales remained active throughout the fair. Seoul-based drawingRoom attracted new interest from collectors from the United Kingdom, Germany and Türkiye with works by younger Korean artists at more accessible prices. Make Room sold seven works on opening day, priced between USD 6,000 and USD 50,000. Frieze noted that lower-priced Korean works were increasingly serving as an entry point for new international collectors.
Institutional participation was another defining feature of this year’s edition. A total of 178 museums and institutions from 25 countries attended, the highest number ever recorded at Frieze Seoul. Korean participants included the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Seoul Museum of Art, Leeum Museum of Art, Amorepacific Museum of Art, Museum SAN and the Gwangju Biennale Foundation.
International institutions included The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA PS1, LACMA, SFMOMA, Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Centre Pompidou, Fondation Louis Vuitton, M+, Mori Art Museum and others.
Several transactions also resulted in institutional acquisitions. Hauser & Wirth placed the Rashid Johnson painting with a major Korean institution, Lehmann Maupin placed a work by Kim Yun Shin in a prominent Korean museum collection, and David Zwirner placed two paintings by Mamma Andersson with a museum in South Korea.
Patrick Lee, Director of Frieze Seoul, said the city’s art scene had developed “its own momentum,” noting that collectors and institutions came from more countries than in any previous edition and that galleries achieved sales across a broad spectrum, from emerging artists to Korean modern masters. He added that while Frieze Seoul continues to become increasingly international, its character is rooted in Korea’s artists, galleries, institutions and collectors.
The fair’s curated sections also showed considerable market depth. In Focus, Whistle drew significant attention with dpgp78’s S7B8 project, selling more than 400 of 500 sponge-block paintings priced from USD 70. Tokyo-based CON_ sold multiple paintings by Minhee Kim for between USD 5,000 and USD 20,000 and also received a new commission request from a Seoul-based collector.
In Spotlight, Seoul’s Sun Gallery sold a 1987 painting by Suk Ranhi, now 87, for KRW 88 million, or approximately USD 65,000. Hong Kong’s Double Q Gallery sold four works by Djordje Ivačković, while Baik Art reported strong sales to both Asian and Western collectors. In Material Practice, Los Angeles gallery Marta sold a 27-panel work by Korean painter Myoung-Ae Lee for USD 34,000, a record for the artist. Seoul gallery La Heen sold all of Gyu Kim’s wooden moon jars to international collectors.
Tokyo’s Taro Nasu received the 2026 Frieze Stand Prize for a curated presentation featuring artists including Marcel Broodthaers, Koichi Enomoto, Simon Fujiwara, Ryan Gander, Ryoji Ikeda, Mika Tajima and Satoshi Watanabe. The 2026 Focus Stand Prize went to Seoul’s Pipe Gallery for Seungean Cha’s solo presentation, 0101 Weaving: Recovering Materiality in the Digital Age.
Frieze Seoul’s influence extended well beyond COEX. Neighborhood Nights in Euljiro, Hannam, Cheongdam and Samcheong brought galleries and visitors into Seoul’s major cultural districts throughout the week. Major exhibitions by Yoo Youngkuk at the Seoul Museum of Art, Do Ho Suh and Christine Sun Kim at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Koo Jeong A at Leeum Museum of Art and Lee Bae at Museum SAN, together with the Gwangju and Busan biennials, further reinforced the broader cultural momentum surrounding the fair.
Frieze Seoul will continue its partnership with Kiaf SEOUL, but a major venue change is planned for next year. In 2027, Frieze Seoul will relocate from COEX to Dongdaemun Design Plaza, or DDP, as COEX undergoes redevelopment. Kiaf SEOUL will remain at COEX, while the two fairs will continue to collaborate through joint programming across separate venues under a renewed partnership running through 2031.
Beyond fair week, Frieze House Seoul will continue its year-round program of gallery residencies, exhibitions and special projects. A Korean-language quarterly edition of frieze magazine is also scheduled to launch in summer 2027, expanding Frieze’s physical and editorial presence in Korea.
Frieze Seoul 2026 was notable not only for its sales figures and visitor numbers, but also for the widening geographical range of its collectors, museums and institutions. Participation from 54 countries and regions and attendance by 178 institutions underscored Seoul’s growing position as a key meeting point in the international art world. At the same time, a market that stretched from USD 70 works by emerging artists to multimillion-dollar Korean modern masters demonstrated the increasingly diverse structure of Frieze Seoul’s collector base.
임만택 기자 dream-kaz@daum.net
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