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Korea transforms into giant open-air gallery this month
Writing Works from Timoteus Anggawan Kusno's “Shadows of the Invisible” are on display at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall in Buk Distict in Gwangju, March 31, 2021. Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min
From the neon-lit galleries of Seoul to the coastal pavilions of Busan, Korea is turning itself into an expansive, monthlong art venue.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, alongside the Korea Arts Management Service, officially launched the 2026 Korea Art Festival on Tuesday, bringing together world-class biennales, major commercial fairs and nearly 100 museums for a nationwide cultural blitz that spans the month of September.
Now in its third consecutive year, the festival aims to democratize art appreciation and solidify Korea's standing as Asia’s premier contemporary art hub.
The ambitious monthlong calendar harmonizes four major regional biennials — in Gwangju, Busan, Jeju, and Gyeonggi Province — with two titan commercial fairs in the capital, Kiaf Seoul and Frieze Seoul. Adding weight to the scale, 96 public and private museums across the country are joining the festivities with tailored exhibitions.
To make the arts accessible, the government subsidized tens of thousands of entry tickets with discounts ranging from 30 to 70 percent, more than 13,000 of which sold out well before opening day.
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) is waiving admission fees across its four main branches — Seoul, Gwacheon, Deoksu Palace and Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province — during the festival's opening week. For travelers, state rail operator Korail introduced discounted transit packages bundling high-speed train tickets to the southern port city of Busan with exhibition entry pass discounts.
The programming extends well beyond traditional white-cube gallery spaces.
International airports in Incheon, Gimpo and Gimhae have converted their terminals into immersive venues, displaying 29 media and installation works from 16 emerging Korean artists. Concurrently, the government is hosting foreign curators, critics and editors under its "Dive into Korean Art" initiative, coordinating studio visits and gallery tours to introduce international tastemakers to home-grown talent.
Guided art trip itineraries linking regional studios and biennales across five provinces proved so popular that reservations filled within days of opening.
"The Korea Art Festival offers citizens a chance to encounter art in their everyday lives while serving as a gateway for the global community to discover Korean art," said Chae Hwi-young, minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "We will continue strengthening the foundations of our artistic ecosystem — from creative support to international expansion — so that visual art becomes the next powerhouse driving K-culture globally."
The initiative arrives at a pivotal moment for Korea's visual arts sector.
Since Frieze launched its Seoul edition in 2022, the country has seen a massive surge in international gallery outposts and collector interest. By knitting together commercial fairs, regional biennials, and public transport infrastructure, Korea hopes to sustain that momentum and build a lasting cultural legacy.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.