Perrotin recently presents an exhibition marking the 10th anniversary of its Seoul branch. On the occasion of this exhibition, we take a closer look at the current activities and future outlook of global galleries that have established a presence in Seoul.
 
Since the mid-2010s, Seoul has rapidly emerged as one of the key Asian hubs for international galleries. This development cannot be reduced to the simple fact that a few well-known galleries have opened branches in the city.
 
As galleries from Europe, the United States, and Greater China have entered Seoul with distinct programs and market strategies, the city has been reconfigured into a complex platform where exhibitions, art distribution, and collector networks intersect, rather than remaining a market solely for domestic art consumption.
 
The entry of international galleries into Seoul has transformed the standards of exhibition formats, installation quality, artist management, and collector relations. At the same time, it has made more visible the pathways through which Korean art is incorporated into the global art system.
 
 
 
Perrotin Seoul

Perrotin Seoul, which opened in 2016, has established itself as one of the earliest cases among international galleries entering the Seoul market.
 
The space is located at 10 Dosan-daero 45-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. According to its official introduction, Perrotin was founded in Paris in 1990 and has since expanded into a global gallery network with locations in Hong Kong, New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Los Angeles.
 
Over the past decade, the Seoul branch has built its program by presenting international and Korean artists in parallel, and can be understood as a case that has successfully established the operational model of a global commercial gallery within the Seoul art market.
 
The current exhibition,《10 YEARS》, commemorates the gallery’s tenth anniversary and runs from March 17 to May 2, 2026. Centered on new works by long-term collaborating artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, Takashi Murakami, Park Seo-Bo, Lee Bae, and Shim Moon-Seup, the exhibition reflects on the past decade while simultaneously suggesting future directions for the program. (www.perrotin.com)
 
 
 
Pace Seoul

Pace Seoul entered the city in 2017 and is currently located at 267 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in the Le Beige Building.
 
From its early establishment, Pace was one of the few international galleries to be based in Hannam-dong. Through its relocation and expansions in 2021 and 2022, the gallery has developed its Seoul space into a multi-layered artistic complex.
 
The space includes not only primary exhibition areas on the second and third floors, but also a ground-floor area designed for immersive and experiential works, as well as an outdoor courtyard. In this way, the Seoul branch functions not merely as a sales space but as a platform for expanding curatorial programs.
 
The current exhibition is Lee Kun-yong’s solo show《Body as Thought》, on view from February 5 to March 28, 2026. The exhibition marks over fifty years of the artist’s practice and presents archival materials—including performance videos, photographs, and working notes from the 1970s—alongside paintings, focusing on his sustained exploration of “body and logic” within the context of Korean experimental art. (www.pacegallery.com)
 
 
 
White Cube Seoul

White Cube Seoul opened in 2023 and is located at 6 Dosan-daero 45-gil, Seoul. According to official statements, the gallery occupies a ground-level space in central Gangnam, near Dosan Park, SongEun, and Horim Art Center.
 
As a gallery that originated in London, White Cube maintains a strong emphasis on brand identity and a clearly defined roster of internationally recognized artists. The Seoul branch continues this characteristic approach.
 
The space operates within a 300-square-meter layout that includes exhibition galleries, private viewing rooms, and office areas, presenting not only artists represented by the gallery but also external artists and group exhibitions.
 
The current exhibition is《LuwVor》, a solo exhibition by El Anatsui, on view from March 18 to April 18, 2026. The exhibition highlights the artist’s transformation of discarded metal materials into large-scale sculptural forms, focusing on works developed since the late 1990s. (www.whitecube.com)
 
 
 
Lehmann Maupin Seoul

Lehmann Maupin Seoul entered the market in 2017 and is located at 213 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
 
The Seoul space is based on the network of a U.S. blue-chip gallery, while actively juxtaposing Korean and Asian artists. As of March 2026, two exhibitions are being presented simultaneously.
 
One is Alex Hank’s first solo exhibition in Asia,《Only the Present Rise》, on view from March 11 to April 18, consisting of five graphite portrait drawings that emphasize the precision and psychological tension of figures rendered on birch plywood.
 
The other is《One and the Many》, a group exhibition bringing together Chang Ucchin, Lee Ungno, and Seo Se-ok, exploring relationships between the individual and the collective, figure and space, ink painting and oil painting, and figuration and abstraction. In this way, Lehmann Maupin Seoul places significant emphasis not only on internationally marketable programs but also on the recontextualization of modern and contemporary Korean artists. (www.lehmannmaupin.com)
 
 
 
Esther Schipper Seoul

Esther Schipper Seoul was established in 2022 and has been operating in a new location at 24 Hannam-daero, Yongsan-gu since 2025.
 
The gallery occupies four floors within a five-story building in Hannam-dong and has clearly articulated its direction to combine long-term collaboration with the Seoul community, international solo exhibitions, and curated projects connected to the Korean context.
 
As a Berlin-based gallery, Esther Schipper is characterized by a strong emphasis on conceptual art, media, and theory-driven exhibitions. The Seoul branch maintains this orientation while actively attempting to connect with Korean artists and locally grounded projects
 
The current exhibition is《Form into Color》, a solo exhibition by Michaela Yearwood-Dan, on view from March 3 to April 25, 2026. (www.estherschipper.com)
 
 
 
Thaddaeus Ropac Seoul

Thaddaeus Ropac Seoul opened in 2021 and is located at 122-1 Dokseodang-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in the Porthill building (floors 1–2).
 
The space is positioned as a bridge connecting the art-historical lineage of European modern and contemporary art with current discourses in Seoul, situated within an architectural landmark in Hannam-dong.
 
Compared to other international galleries, Ropac Seoul places relatively greater emphasis on curated exhibitions. It has consistently presented exhibitions that reposition Korean and Asian artists within broader international discourses.
 
The current exhibition,《Distancing》, runs from February 24 to May 2, 2026. (www.ropac.net)
 
 
 
Tang Contemporary Art Seoul

Tang Contemporary Art Seoul entered the Korean market in 2022 with the opening of a new space in Gangnam. The gallery is located at B2, 6 Apgujeong-ro 75-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
 
Operating through a network connecting Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Seoul, Tang Contemporary Art focuses on building intra-Asian market connections, differing from Western blue-chip gallery models.
 
The Seoul space began with Zhao Zhao’s solo exhibition in 2022 and has since developed a fluid, regionally networked program by presenting artists from China, Korea, and Southeast Asia together.
 
A solo exhibition by Cooper,《Still Blooming》, is scheduled to open on March 28, 2026. (www.tangcontemporary.com)
 
 
 
Gladstone Seoul

Gladstone Seoul has been operating since 2022 and is located at 760 Samseong-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
 
Seoul is presented alongside New York and Brussels as one of the gallery’s key locations, and Philippe Parreno’s 2022 exhibition《Mineral Mutations》was introduced as having taken place in the gallery’s “new Seoul space.”
 
Gladstone Seoul is characterized by a relatively restrained exhibition program that focuses on presenting individual artists with depth, aiming to establish a stable, long-term presence for its artists in Seoul.
 
The most recent exhibition in Seoul was Kaspar Bosmans’ solo exhibition《Peas, Pod》, on view from January 29 to March 14, 2026. (www.gladstonegallery.com)



Characteristics of Seoul Branches and Their Impact on the Korean Art Scene
 
These international galleries do not operate in the same way.
 
While Perrotin and White Cube excel in directly transferring global brand visibility and artist recognition into Seoul, Pace builds experiential programs through architectural expansion. Lehmann Maupin operates by combining modern and contemporary Korean art with international programs.
 
Esther Schipper and Thaddaeus Ropac emphasize discourse-driven and curated exhibition formats, while Tang Contemporary Art positions Seoul not as an extension of the Western art market but as a node within an intra-Asian network.
 
Gladstone, by contrast, maintains a selective and concentrated exhibition structure. These differences demonstrate that Seoul is no longer a singular market of consumption but has evolved into a complex art city where brand-driven, curatorial, and network-based strategies coexist.
 
The entry of international galleries into Seoul has directly influenced the pathways through which Korean contemporary art enters the global stage. On the positive side, Korean artists have gained greater access to international gallery networks, collectors, and institutional exhibitions, while Seoul itself has become a primary point of contact for global audiences encountering Korean art.
 
However, if these connections become overly dependent on the selection mechanisms of international galleries, the independent global strategies of Korean galleries may be weakened. Ultimately, what matters is not simply the presence of international galleries, but how Korean galleries refine their own programs, cultivate artists over the long term, and build independent international networks.
 
International galleries in Seoul have elevated the standards of the market, but at the same time, they have come to demand a higher level of strategy and structure from the Korean art scene.