Fewer Artworks Sold, But Transaction Value Rose... Art Market Sees 'Selective Rebound'

Transaction Volume Reaches 638.2 Billion Won in 2025, Up 3.8% Year-on-Year
Auction Value Rises 20.3% While Number of Artworks Sold Drops 13%
Still 20.9% Below 2022 Peak... More Galleries, Fewer Employees

Last year, the domestic art market halted its two-year decline and saw a slight rebound. However, the number of artworks sold actually decreased. Rather than a broadening of the market base, this rise in total transaction value was driven primarily by a concentration of funds toward comparatively higher-priced pieces, making it more a case of a "selective rebound."

Visitors are appreciating artworks at the Gallery Art Fair held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the "2026 Art Market Survey" released on July 27 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service, the total value of artwork transactions in Korea in 2025 reached 638.2 billion won, up 3.8% from 615.1 billion won the previous year. After peaking at 806.6 billion won in 2022, the market contracted to 692.8 billion won in 2023 and then to 615.1 billion won in 2024, marking two consecutive years of decline before rebounding. Nevertheless, last year's transaction value is still 20.9% lower than the 2022 peak.

The number of artworks traded moved in the opposite direction. Last year, 42,499 artworks were sold, a decrease of 3.1% compared to the previous year. When dividing the transaction value by the number of works, the average value per piece rose by 7.1%, from about 14.02 million won in 2024 to approximately 15.02 million won last year. The total market size increased despite fewer works being sold because the average price per piece went up.

Auction houses led the market rebound. Auction transaction value jumped by 20.3% year-on-year to 144.9 billion won, while the number of works sold dropped by 13.0% to 11,483 pieces. The average value per artwork at auction soared by about 38%, from 9.13 million won to 12.62 million won. This indicates that the increase in auction market transaction value depended not on a more even distribution of sales across many pieces, but on the sale of higher-priced works.

The value of gallery transactions also rose 4.0% to 352.8 billion won, even as the number of artworks sold decreased by 2.4% to 23,145 pieces. Galleries continued to represent the most significant distribution channel, accounting for roughly 55% of the entire art market's transaction value. The private art distribution (combining galleries, auction houses, and art fairs) totaled 501.2 billion won, an increase of 8.3% over the previous year. By contrast, public sector purchases—including museums, art in architecture, and art banks—fell 10.1% to 137.0 billion won. As such, there was a simultaneous rebound in private deals and contraction in public demand.

Figures related to art fairs need to be interpreted with attention to methodology. The reported art fair transaction value of 3.6 billion won in this survey reflects an adjustment to exclude sales already counted under gallery deals at art fairs. The total on-site sales including overlapping transactions amounted to 203.5 billion won, down 6.4% from 217.4 billion won in the previous year. The number of works sold at art fairs also declined by 3.6%, totaling 20,734. Simply noting that “art fair transactions rose 12.8%” does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude the art fair market expanded.

Market structure and employment also showed divergent trends. The number of art distributors—including galleries, auction houses, and art fair operators—increased by 3.1% to 1,028, but the number of employees declined by 6.3% to 3,440. The number of galleries rose from 877 to 922, a 5.1% increase, but gallery employees decreased by 2.1%. Auction houses fell in number from 12 to 10, and art fair operators from 108 to 96. The increase in the number of businesses did not translate into simultaneous growth in staffing or operating scale.

The concentration of transactions on high-priced works became more pronounced this year. According to the “2026 First Half Art Market Analysis Report” released the same day by the Korea Art Authentication Research Center, the total value of successful auction bids in Korea reached 110.8 billion won—about double the total from the same period last year. However, the number of lots offered for auction fell by 11%. “Nothing About It” by Yoshitomo Nara sold for 15 billion won and “Pumpkin” by Yayoi Kusama fetched 10.45 billion won, with the two pieces alone accounting for 23% of all successful bids in the first half. This suggests that rather than a broad market recovery, transactions continue to favor proven artists and ultra-high-value works.

Art market statistics and business operator management systems are also changing. Under the Art Promotion Act, a new "art service business reporting system" was implemented on July 26, requiring related businesses to report their operations to local governments. The government aims to manage market participants and transaction information more systematically through this policy.

A representative from the Korea Arts Management Service commented, "After a period of adjustment since the market peak in 2022, the size of art transactions in Korea rose again in 2025." However, the representative also noted, "The market structure is shifting from growth driven by transaction volume to growth driven by transaction value."

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