The《Korea Art Market 2025》report analyzes how exhibitions in 2024–2025 have evolved beyond simple art appreciation or institutional programming to function as structural sites where audiences, artists, institutions, cities, markets, and international networks intersect. In this process, exhibitions have become the clearest indicators of how Korean contemporary art is being reorganized. Their role has expanded significantly, emerging as a central axis influencing the entire art ecosystem.
 


The Popular Expansion of Large-Scale Exhibitions and Shifts in Viewing Behavior

Major museum exhibitions in 2024–2025 continued to draw substantial audiences and strengthen public interest. The Ron Mueck exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul, recorded high visitor numbers and extended dwell times. The combination of celebrity attendance, social media–driven “exhibition proof shots,” and the now-normalized reservation system contributed to the exhibition’s absorption into broader popular culture.

According to the report, these changes are closely linked to post-pandemic viewing habits and digital dissemination structures, indicating that exhibitions are reshaping not only individual leisure patterns but also the broader landscape of cultural consumption within the city.


 
Expansion of Korean Artists’ Overseas Shows and the Rise of Solo Exhibition–Centered Curation

The report identifies a notable increase in solo exhibitions of Korean artists at major international institutions in 2025.

Examples include Ayoung Kim’s solo exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof (《Many Worlds Over》), Do Ho Suh’s exhibition at Tate Modern (《Walk the House》), and Haegue Yang’s projects in London and Mexico.

This shift demonstrates a departure from earlier modes of presenting Korean art largely through group or region-based exhibitions. Instead, institutions are placing individual practices, methodologies, and research-driven inquiries at the center of their curatorial agendas. The report also highlights the rising prominence of women artists in their 40s and 50s, signaling a significant generational and discursive shift within Korean contemporary art.
 


Changing Narratives in International Exhibitions and the Emergence of Multi-Layered Curatorial Frameworks

International exhibitions have increasingly moved away from framing Korean art through a singular national or stylistic narrative.

Projects such as SeMA’s overseas touring exhibition《Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits》,  the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s《Monstrous Beauty》, and New Taipei City Museum’s《Reimagining Radical Cities》demonstrate an expanded approach—foregrounding diverse thematic inquiries and individualized artistic practices over fixed cultural or identity markers.

The report concludes that such developments represent a shift away from older curatorial modes that tended to anchor Korean art to a single image or canonical storyline. Instead, they reveal a transition toward more pluralistic, differentiated contemporary narratives.


 
Two Key Directions in Domestic Exhibitions: The Return of Painting and the Expansion of Socially Driven Themes

Domestic exhibitions in 2024–2025 reveal two major tendencies: a renewed focus on painting and a widening engagement with social issues.

Painting-centered exhibitions—such as《Take My Eyes Off》at Buk-Seoul Museum of Art,《Deep Into Abstraction – On the Way》at Seoul National University Museum of Art,《Wondersquare》at Museumhead, and《Next Painting: As We Are》at Kukje Gallery—explored the relevance and possibilities of painting within a digital environment.

Simultaneously, national and regional museums expanded programming around ecology, care, local identity, and other social themes. MMCA’s《Looking After Each Others》and Gyeongnam Art Museum’s《Something So Incredible》foregrounded societal structures and current issues, illustrating how museums are increasingly operating as platforms for public discourse.

Introducing International Artists and the Influx of Global Discourses

Korean museums and galleries actively introduced international artists, strengthening the connection between domestic audiences and global contemporary art conversations.

Nicolas Party’s 《Dust》 at Hoam Museum of Art, James Turrell’s exhibition at Pace Gallery Seoul, and Mona Hatoum’s exhibition at White Cube Seoul offered Korean audiences direct engagement with ongoing global discourses.

According to the report, these exhibitions broaden the curatorial scope of Korean institutions while elevating the overall level of international connectivity within the domestic art ecosystem.


 
The Expanding Role of Exhibitions and the Formation of Structural Contact Zones

The report underscores that exhibitions now operate as structural contact zones where artist careers, institutional identities, urban cultural strategies, international networks, and market dynamics intersect.

Exhibitions are no longer isolated institutional programs; they have become platforms with measurable influence across the entire art ecosystem—shaping artist visibility, institutional positioning, audience perception, and even market trajectories.
 


Outlook: The Consolidation of an Exhibition-Centered Ecosystem

The report anticipates that the exhibition-centered structure will strengthen further.

The expansion of solo-exhibition-driven programming, the stabilization of research-based curatorial practices, the rise of socially and regionally embedded themes, the blurring of boundaries between painting/installation/media, the tightening of collaborations with overseas institutions, and the growing role of regional museums are all cited as major directions.

Together, these developments indicate that the Korean art ecosystem is undergoing a systematic reconfiguration—one in which exhibitions increasingly operate as the decisive engine shaping the field’s future direction.