Every September, a distinctive energy takes hold of Seoul’s art scene. Major galleries unveil new exhibitions in rapid succession, while museums and nonprofit art spaces present special programs.

Collectors, curators, and museum professionals from Korea and abroad converge on Seoul, and for a brief period, exhibition spaces across the city and the halls of COEX become connected as one expansive art landscape.

At the center of this activity are Kiaf SEOUL and Frieze Seoul. This year, Kiaf will be held at COEX from September 2 to 6, while Frieze Seoul will run from September 2 to 5. Under the theme “Coexistence,” Kiaf will explore human perception and creativity, as well as the relationship between humanity and technology.
 
Now in its fifth edition, Frieze Seoul will bring together more than 125 galleries from 30 countries, with over 70 percent of participating galleries based in the Asia-Pacific region.
 
Ahead of the two fairs, K-ARTNOW presents a two-part special feature. Part 1 examines the differences between the two fairs and offers several criteria for viewing them on site. Part 2 will focus on their official websites, editorial content, and archives, comparing their platform strategies and considering the challenges Seoul Art Week may need to address in the future.
 
Before comparing the two fairs, it is useful to consider the essential role of an art fair. An art fair is a marketplace where works are traded, but it is also a setting in which galleries present the artists they represent—and the value of their work—in the most persuasive way possible. The central question, therefore, is not simply how many galleries participate, but how carefully each fair selects strong galleries and artists, and how accurately it communicates the context and contemporary significance of their work.
 
 
 
Kiaf: Where the Choices of Korean Galleries Come Together
 
Founded in 2002, Kiaf has developed into Korea’s leading international art fair, grounded in the Galleries Association of Korea and the country’s gallery ecosystem. International galleries also participate, but the fair remains centered on Korean galleries that have long discovered, represented, and exhibited Korean artists. Visiting Kiaf therefore offers an opportunity to see, in one place, which artists and works Korean galleries currently consider important.
 
The main section offers the pleasure of encountering familiar artists and representative works, while also revealing how each gallery chooses to reintroduce an artist through a particular selection and context. Even the same artist can create a very different impression depending on the relationship between recent and earlier works, or on how their work is positioned alongside artists of different generations and media.
 
A strong booth is not necessarily one that displays the greatest number of works. When the reasoning behind the selection is clear, relationships between works unfold naturally, and the presentation connects with the gallery’s broader program, the booth can function as a compact exhibition. At Kiaf, it is worth considering how deeply Korean galleries understand the artists they represent and how persuasively that understanding is communicated through the works, spatial arrangement, and supporting materials.
 
 
 
PLUS and “Coexistence”: Looking Toward Kiaf’s Next Direction
 
PLUS, which introduces younger galleries and emerging artists, provides opportunities to encounter artists and proposals that have not yet received broad attention. Its appeal lies not in quickly identifying familiar names, but in pausing before an unfamiliar work and considering why a gallery has chosen to present that artist at this particular moment.
 
When viewing emerging artists, it is important to look beyond immediate novelty and consider whether their practices have the potential for sustained development. Has the artist developed a distinctive visual language? Do repetition and transformation remain in balance across the works? Does the gallery clearly communicate both the artist’s current achievements and future potential?
 
Kiaf’s theme of “Coexistence” also provides a useful point of entry. Visitors can consider how nature and artificiality, manual labor and technology, and traditional materials and new media come together within the works. The key question is whether the theme remains confined to explanatory texts or functions as a language connecting the special exhibitions, spatial design, and works presented throughout the fair.

Frieze Seoul: Between New Discoveries and Reconsidered Art Histories
 
Frieze Seoul is supported by a global gallery and media network, yet more than 70 percent of this year’s participating galleries are based in the Asia-Pacific region. More than 50 participating galleries also operate permanent spaces in Seoul, reflecting the fair’s close relationship with the international gallery ecosystem already established in the city.

Alongside the main section, three curated sections deserve particular attention this year: Focus, Spotlight, and Material Practice.
 
Focus presents solo-artist booths by younger galleries. Unlike the main section, where representative works by multiple artists are presented together, Focus allows visitors to engage more closely with the practice of a single artist. The key is whether a consistent visual language and meaningful development can be seen across the works, and whether the gallery has shaped them into a coherent presentation.
 
Spotlight reintroduces twentieth-century artists who have received comparatively limited attention within established art-historical and market narratives. Visitors may consider why a particular artist is being revisited now and how effectively the works, archival materials, and research are brought together. A market-led rediscovery should be distinguished from the art-historical recovery of an overlooked achievement.
 
Material Practice explores the intersections of contemporary art, design, craft, and material expression. It asks how materials such as wood, clay, metal, and fiber can be transformed into new visual languages, and how far techniques of making contribute to the conceptual and structural development of a work.

The Same Artists, Different Contexts—Where a Gallery’s Expertise Becomes Visible
 
Moving between the two fairs, visitors may encounter the same Korean artists presented by different galleries. A Korean gallery may focus on representative works and the artist’s development over time, while an international gallery may place works from another period or medium in dialogue with artists from other regions.
 
The same artist can be read very differently depending on which works surround them, what information is provided, and how the gallery positions the artist within its broader program.
 
At Kiaf, visitors can examine the depth of Korean galleries’ long-term engagement with an artist’s history and practice. At Frieze Seoul, they can consider how persuasively international galleries situate Korean artists within global discourse and networks. This is not simply a matter of ranking Korean and international galleries, but of recognizing their different roles and forms of expertise.
 
A gallery that remains true to the essential purpose of an art fair is not one that creates the greatest spectacle around an artist. It is one that understands the practice accurately and communicates its value through the most appropriate works and context.

Beyond the Star Work: Looking at the Booth as a Whole
 
One of the great pleasures of an art fair is seeing important works by major artists at close range. Yet moving directly to the next booth after looking at a single eye-catching work can make it easy to miss what the gallery is actually trying to present.
 
Stepping back reveals the rhythm and relationships between works. Visitors can see whether different periods in one artist’s practice are connected, whether artists of different generations and media form a coherent perspective, and what the gallery has chosen to include or leave out.
 
Through this process, the quality of the works, the coherence of the booth, the depth of the interpretation, and the gallery’s professional expertise become visible together. When these elements are balanced beyond fame and price, an art fair becomes more than a sales venue: it becomes a place where the value of artists and works can be discovered and expanded.

The Clearest Standard for Comparing the Two Fairs
 
The scale of Kiaf and Frieze Seoul can easily overwhelm visitors. Rather than trying to move quickly through every booth, it may be more productive to identify several areas of interest and connect the two fairs through those themes.
 
Visitors interested in new Korean artists can compare Kiaf’s PLUS with Frieze’s Focus. Those interested in the reassessment of twentieth-century Korean and Asian art can look at Kiaf’s presentations of major modern and contemporary artists alongside Frieze’s Spotlight. Those drawn to materiality and craft can connect Kiaf’s “Coexistence”-related programs with Frieze’s Material Practice.
 
The most important criterion, however, is not the title of a section or the number of participating galleries.
 
It is how carefully the two fairs select strong galleries and artists, and how persuasively they communicate the quality and value of the works.
 
Kiaf reflects the artists championed by Korean galleries and the current state of the domestic market, while Frieze Seoul introduces new artists and art-historical currents through an international gallery network. The two fairs begin from different positions and operate through different methods. Their respective qualities and values become clearer when those differences are examined through the actual works, booth presentations, supporting materials, and interpretations.
 
Seoul Art Week 2026 offers an opportunity not simply to move quickly through a large number of works, but to observe how the two fairs select and present artists and galleries. Through that process, visitors can develop a clearer sense of what distinguishes strong works and strong galleries, as well as the new forms of value an art fair can create.
 
 

References

- Kiaf SEOUL official website: https://kiaf.org/
- Frieze Seoul official website: https://www.frieze.com/fairs/frieze-seoul