Now In Korea
K-Art Spotlight: Masters Revisited, Diversity and Inclusion Shape Korea’s 2025 Art Scene
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
Korean art trends in 2025 emphasize reappraising modern masters and expanding diversity. Museums and biennales saw record or rising attendance despite a cooling art market: the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art reported a 15% visitor increase and national museums drew over 21 million visitors. Major retrospectives mark anniversaries—20 years since Nam June Paik’s death with renewed global research and exhibitions (including an AI robot opera reviving his K-456 robot), and the 110th anniversary of abstract pioneer Yoo Youngkuk with a large-scale retrospective. Other key Korean figures such as Lee Seung-ja and Do Ho Suh will be highlighted in major shows, while institutions continue to support mid-career and emerging artists. Curators and foundations are foregrounding genre variety and social inclusion: large-scale LGBTQ+ (성소수자) exhibitions, shows focused on women artists and first-generation women installation artists, immersive and participatory “live art” and performance work, and conceptual exhibitions reframing difficult formats. Multiple regional and thematic biennales — including Busan, Gwangju, the Geumgang Natural Art Biennale, and Changwon Sculpture Biennale — will underline K-Art’s identities, encouraging visitors to compare regional histories and curatorial approaches. Overall, 2025 in Korea’s art world centers on revisiting overlooked masters, widening artistic voices, and making museum experiences more engaging and inclusive.
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