2025 Hwarang Art Festival Opens at Record Scale... 30% Increase in Visitors on First Day

The Hwarang Art Fair, boasting the longest history in Korea, opened on the 16th at COEX Hall A and B. This year's event, co-hosted by the Korea Art Dealers Association and COEX, was presented on the largest scale ever.

On the 16th, visitors are lining up to enter the Hwarang Art Fair. Hwarang Art Fair

This year, a record 168 galleries participated in the Hwarang Art Fair. It was the first time both COEX Hall A and B were used. The visitor flow was expanded, and rest areas were set up throughout the venue. A booth search system was introduced for the convenience of visitors.

On the VIP Day, held on the 16th, over 6,100 visitors attended, marking a 30% increase compared to the previous year.

The opening ceremony, held at 3 PM in Hall B's Talk Lounge, was attended by notable figures including Yoon Jong-won, former Chief Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs; Lee Jung-woo, Director of Culture and Arts Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Cho Sang-hyun, CEO of COEX; Song Hyung-jong, CEO of Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture; Jeon Kwang-chun, Vice President of Leading Investment Securities; Kim Byung-soo, President of the Korean Art Critics Association; Park Jin-young, Executive Director of KB Financial Group; and Kim Jang-ho, CEO of the Arts Management Support Center. Specially, actress Kim Hee-sun participated as an Art Worker.

The special exhibition for emerging artists, ZOOM-IN, a major highlight of the Hwarang Art Fair, is held for the sixth time this year. Selected through an open call, PRETTYLINEZ artists Jeong Hyun, Regina Kim, Minjeong See, Park Bo-sun, Park Ji-soo, Bang Jin-tae, Shin Ye-rin, Lee Ji-woong, Choi Ji-won, and Chu Sang-min showcase diverse artistic visions. Many visitors commented that this year’s works are "elegantly handled in terms of media, highly complete, and interestingly composed of various media including three-dimensional video."

During the exhibition period, final winners will be selected through on-site visitor voting and expert judging, with three recipients to be awarded the 2025 ZOOM-IN Award and prize money on the 20th.

The discussion corner 'ART&ARTIST TALK,' featuring experts from various fields of the art market, will be held from the 17th to the 19th. Notably, the 'Artist Talk - Park Bo-sun x Ahn Jin-guk' session on April 19 at 1 PM will have actress Kim Hee-sun, the Art Worker of the 2025 Hwarang Art Fair, as the MC.

A representative from the Art Dealers Association stated, "Overall, the quality of works from participating galleries has improved, and with diverse programs such as the ZOOM-IN special exhibition and solo booths, along with a comfortable and convenient visitor flow, the fair has received positive feedback from visitors as the highest-level Hwarang Art Fair ever."

Held annually in the first half of the year and regarded as a barometer for the domestic art market trends, this year’s Hwarang Art Fair will continue until the 20th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.