KIAF Closes with Record High Sales of 65 Billion KRW

'Untitled' by Takashi Murakami exhibited at 'KIAF Seoul 2021'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Korea International Art Fair (KIAF) held this year to celebrate its 20th anniversary concluded with record-breaking sales of 65 billion KRW.

The Korea Gallery Association announced on the 18th that the sales at "KIAF Seoul 2021," held from the 13th to the 17th at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, were approximately 65 billion KRW. This figure is more than double the previous record sales of 31 billion KRW in 2019.

The number of visitors was recorded at 88,000, a 7% increase compared to 2019. This number is also the highest ever recorded. Last year, due to COVID-19, the event was held online only.

About half of the sales were made on the first day of KIAF, the VVIP viewing day. Among the approximately 2,000 VVIP cards provided to galleries by the KIAF organizing committee, 70-80% of the guests entered on the first day, and guests from sponsors and partner companies also visited. The VVIP system was introduced for the first time this year at KIAF, allowing one accompanying person per cardholder. The general sale of VVIP cards was limited to 100 cards and sold out within two days.

The second day, VIP day, was open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. VIP guests who did not receive VVIP cards made a special effort to visit despite it being a weekday. They viewed artworks they had not purchased on the first day and appreciated pieces they intended to collect. Among the general open days from the 15th to the 17th, Friday was as crowded as a weekend, and on the weekend, long lines formed for wristbands required for entry and for admission itself. Around 3 p.m. on the 16th, the hall reached its maximum allowed capacity of 3,063 people, leading to all entrances being closed while waiting for the number inside to decrease. On the last day, Sunday the 17th, the entrance was closed from 1 p.m. after reaching the limit, and sequential entry was conducted for about two hours.

Alex Katz's 'Double Oliver'.

Famous personalities also visited this KIAF. BTS members V and RM, Jun Ji-hyun, the couple Lee Byung-hun and Lee Min-jung, So Ji-sub, Noh Hong-chul, Hwang Shin-hye, So Yoo-jin, Sung Yu-ri, and Han Ji-hye visited the exhibition. Not only overseas galleries staying in Korea but also overseas directors without branches in Korea participated, allowing a glimpse into the domestic art market atmosphere.

Online access also surged. In 2020, when the event was held online only, about 37,000 people accessed the official KIAF website over a month, recording over 740,000 page clicks. This year, by simultaneously operating an online viewing room where visitors could search KIAF and check artwork information, from the 8th to the 17th?the 10 days including the offline event period?about 83,000 visitors recorded 680,000 page clicks. On the VIP open day, the 14th, the website had 18,657 visitors in one day, and on the general open day, the 15th, it recorded 19,451 visitors. Among online visitors, 59% were female and 41% male. The largest age group was 45-54 years old at 23.6%, followed by 25-34 years old at 22.0%. The proportion of visitors aged 55-64 increased to 19.2% compared to last year. The most frequent access region was Korea, followed by Japan, the United States, and Germany.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.