In this final article of the series, we will discuss the essential conditions for the success of Korean art fairs and the absolute necessity of global expansion. Additionally, we will briefly examine the operational status of KIAF and Frieze Seoul over the past three years and explore the underlying realities of the so-called "era of 100 art fairs" in Korea.
2024.09.10
The news in 2022 that Frieze, a globally prestigious art fair, would be held in Seoul for the first time was both a breath of fresh air and a cause for concern within the Korean art world. On the one hand, it was a positive sign that Korea was being recognized for its potential as a hub in the Asian art market. On the other hand, there were worries that Korea's relatively underdeveloped art market could be overshadowed by Western art fairs backed by massive capital.
2024.09.03
September's hot topic revolves around the joint hosting of the Kiaf and Frieze art fairs, providing a perfect backdrop to discuss the recent art fair boom sweeping through South Korea's art scene, which we'll explore in a three-part series.
2024.08.27
The Anachronism series began by examining how Korean art has continued to understand and organize itself under changing conditions through languages, institutions, and models of success inherited from the past. It considered the recurring tendency to reproduce earlier
2026.07.28
A fundamental problem in Korean art history remains insufficiently resolved: the criteria by which its historical periods are distinguished. When did Korea’s modern period in art begin? What does hyeondae misul—the category conventionally called “modern art” or “contemporary art” in Korean—actually signify, and where does it begin? And from what
2026.07.14
The previous two essays examined the anachronism of Korean contemporary art. The first identified the problem of explaining the present through the languages of the past. The second examined the structure through which past models of success continue to be repeated as strategies for the future.
2026.06.30
The anachronism of Korean contemporary art is not simply a matter of outdated institutions or obsolete sensibilities. The more fundamental problem lies in the way methods that once proved effective continue to be repeated today as strategies for the future. A failed past can be criticized relatively easily. A successful past, however, tends to survive for a long time. It becomes inertia within institutions, a standard within policy, an object of imitation within the market, and a source of justification within discourse.
2026.06.16
Anachronism generally refers to a temporal dislocation. It describes a condition in which objects, languages, institutions, or sensibilities from different historical periods appear out of sync within the same moment. Yet under the post-contemporary condition, anachronism does not simply mean something old, outdated, or behind the times.
2026.06.02
One of the most powerful languages in contemporary art today is “critique.” Exhibitions question society, institutions dismantle power, and the curatorial produces discourse that moves across boundaries. Museums and biennales function as platforms for interpreting politics and society, history and identity.
2026.05.19
