The January 2026 regular auctions held by Seoul Auction and K Auction served as the first major test of whether the Korean art market, after a period of adjustment, has begun to re-enter an active trading phase. The two auctions were held one day apart, and both their curatorial strategies and results indicate a clear emphasis on testing market absorption rather than pursuing aggressive expansion.
 
Rather than functioning as event-driven auctions aimed at record-breaking prices or dramatic spikes, these sales were characterized by an effort to assess realistic transaction potential following the cumulative market corrections of the past one to two years. The outcomes—reflected in both sell-through rates and total sales—suggest a moderate recovery signal, indicating that the market has moved beyond a phase of extreme contraction.
 
Having gone through an adjustment phase in 2025, the Korean art market used the January 2026 auctions to once again take the temperature of actual trading activity. Seoul Auction and K Auction opened the year with their first sales held just a day apart, and both recorded sell-through rates above 70 percent along with meaningful total sales, demonstrating that the market remains operational at the start of the year.
 

 
Seoul Auction: Diversified Structure and the Role of the Mid-Price Segment

Seoul Auction held its 189th sale on January 27 at its Gangnam Center. A total of 117 lots were offered, of which 82 were sold, resulting in a sell-through rate of 72.6 percent. Total hammer sales amounted to approximately KRW 4.1454 billion (about USD 2.86 million).
 
This result is notable in that it did not rely on a single headline-grabbing, high-priced lot, but instead reflected transactions distributed across multiple sections. The auction was evenly composed of Korean modern and contemporary art, international contemporary art, antiquities, and contemporary ceramics, deliberately avoiding concentration in any single category. This approach can be read as a response to recent market conditions in which demand had been heavily skewed toward specific artists or narrow price brackets.

Among the notable results, a painting by Yayoi Kusama achieved KRW 720 million (approximately USD 497,000), one of the highest prices of the sale. Among Korean artists, a work by kukwon Woo sold for KRW 280 million (about USD 193,000), while a work by Kim Sunwoo was hammered down at KRW 100 million (approximately USD 69,000).

The overall pattern observed at this Seoul Auction sale points less to symbolic achievements driven by ultra-high prices and more to steady transactions centered on mid-range price levels and artists whose market positions have already been tested. This differs somewhat from the typical wait-and-see posture often seen at early-year auctions, suggesting that after a recalibration of price expectations, buyers were willing to commit to actual purchases.
 
At the same time, these results do not indicate that the market has entered a full-fledged growth phase. Rather, they suggest that transactions have resumed in a limited but more clearly defined range of prices and artists. In this sense, Seoul Auction’s January sale functioned less as a barometer of renewed exuberance and more as a checkpoint to confirm whether realistic pricing could translate into completed transactions after the recent correction.
 

 
K Auction: A Clear Focus on Blue-Chip Artists

K Auction held its first regular auction of 2026 on January 28 at its Sinsa-dong headquarters. A total of 92 lots were offered, with 66 sold, resulting in a sell-through rate of 71.7 percent. Total hammer sales reached approximately KRW 6.9 billion (about USD 4.76 million).
 
Although the number of lots was smaller than at Seoul Auction, both the total value of works offered and the total sales achieved were comparatively higher. The top price of the auction was recorded by a work by Yayoi Kusama, which sold for KRW 980 million (approximately USD 676,000). This was followed by a large-scale painting by Lee Ufan at KRW 890 million (about USD 614,000), and a 1970s work by Kim Tschang-Yeul, which realized KRW 880 million (approximately USD 607,000).

Works by Chun Kyung-ja and Lee Seong-ja also found buyers, as did pieces by Yang Hae-gue and Lee Bae, resulting in a sale structure in which both high-value and mid-range works were successfully absorbed. Despite offering fewer lots, K Auction’s strategy of concentrating on artists with well-established market credibility contributed to its relatively strong total sales.
 
The most distinctive feature of K Auction’s January results lies in the clarity of demand concentration around a specific group of artists. A substantial portion of the total sales was generated by internationally recognized, blue-chip artists, underscoring the continued conservatism of collectors’ selection criteria.
 
Beyond the numerical sell-through rate, these results carry additional significance. Compared to the early 2025 auctions—when bidding on high-priced works was notably restrained—the January 2026 sale demonstrated that for representative series and works from key periods, substantive transactions are once again taking place. While this does not signal broad-based market expansion, it does indicate that confidence in a core group of artists remains intact.


 
Overall Assessment: Not a Recovery, but a Reordering

The January 2026 auction results at Seoul Auction and K Auction are premature to interpret as a short-term rebound or a renewed upward cycle. Nevertheless, they carry clear significance in showing that, after a prolonged period of adjustment, the market has begun to reorganize its internal standards and redefine the conditions under which transactions are possible.
 
Sell-through rates in the 70 percent range, meaningful total sales, and transaction patterns centered on blue-chip artists all indicate that the market is no longer in a state of paralysis. At the same time, these outcomes confirm that participants remain cautious, with demand focused on works that combine price realism with accumulated market trust.
 
The January auctions thus stand as an early case study of how the Korean art market may move through 2026. Whether this selective, disciplined trading pattern continues into the spring auction season and upcoming art fairs—or whether new variables emerge—will require continued observation.

References

• Seoul Auction
• K Auction