According to the recently released 2024 Artist Status Survey, 75.7% of artists earn less than 12 million KRW annually, while 31% report having no income at all. The average household income of artists is over 20 million KRW lower than the national average, with severe income disparities particularly evident in photography, literature, and fine arts.

The Korean art scene is experiencing what can truly be called a "blockbuster boom." One after another, exhibitions of internationally renowned artists—Van Gogh, Hopper, Munch, Basquiat—are being held in Korea, resembling the global tours of pop stars.

Since the 2000s, the Korean art world and art market have undergone remarkable expansion, growing significantly in scale. This growth is reflected in the dramatic rise of the domestic art auction market over the past 24 years. According to research conducted by the Korea Art Price Appraisal Association (Chairman Kim Young-Seok) and Art Price (CEO Ko Yoon-Jeong), the market has expanded 1,830 times during this period.

In the 21st century, South Korea has solidified its position as a global cultural powerhouse. K-pop dominates the global music industry, and K-dramas and K-literature have seamlessly entered people's daily lives worldwide, bridging popular culture and fine arts.

In 2024, a massive financial scandal rocked the South Korean art market. An art trading company called GALLERY K attracted large sums of money by promising investors a 7-9% annualized return and guaranteed principal, but recently, a class-action lawsuit by customers has revealed the full story.

Recently, the Korean art scene has been embroiled in a heated debate over the potential establishment of a branch of the iconic Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou (Pompidou Center) in Korea.