Frieze Seoul 2026 Expands to More Than 125 Galleries as Seoul Deepens Its Art-World Pull
Frieze Seoul will return to COEX in Gangnam from September 3 to 5, 2026, with an invitation-only preview on September 2 and the morning of September 3. For its fifth edition, the fair says it will bring together more than 125 galleries from 30 countries, underscoring how quickly Seoul has become one of the most closely watched hubs in the contemporary art market.
The fair’s footprint remains distinctly regional while still drawing major international names. More than 70% of participating galleries have spaces in the Asia-Pacific region, and more than 50 operate permanent spaces in Seoul. Frieze Seoul will again run alongside Kiaf SEOUL, the country’s longest-running international art fair, continuing a partnership that has helped anchor the city’s September art calendar.
Patrick Lee, who remains fair director, framed the event as part of a larger shift in how Seoul is understood within the global art economy. In a statement, he said the fair was founded on the idea that Seoul is not merely a host city, but a place that helps define the future of contemporary art in Asia. This year’s edition, he added, is meant to look outward while staying closely connected to the artists, galleries, and cultural heritage that shape Korea’s wider cultural landscape.
Korean galleries will again form a strong core of the fair, with exhibitors including Kukje Gallery, Arario Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, Hakgojae Gallery, Johyun Gallery, Gallery Baton, Jason Haam, and P21. Japanese galleries will also have a notable presence, among them Taka Ishii Gallery, Nanzuka, and Take Ninagawa. On the international side, Frieze Seoul has confirmed participation from Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, White Cube, Pace Gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac, Sprüth Magers, Galerie Lelong, Lehmann Maupin, Tina Kim Gallery, and Lisson Gallery.
Two new curated sectors will debut in 2026. Material Practice, curated by independent curator Hyeyoung Cho, will examine the overlap between contemporary art, craft, and design through presentations by galleries including Art Space 3, Bienvenu Steinberg & C, Charles Burnand Gallery, Marta, and Soluna Fine Art. Spotlight, curated by Wonseok Koh, will present solo projects by artists overlooked by Western art history, including Nobuo Sekine, Po Po, Hoon Kwak, and Etsuko Nakatsuji.
The fair’s Focus section, dedicated to emerging galleries, will also broaden for the first time beyond Asia at Frieze Seoul. Curated by Seolhui Lee, it will include 16 galleries founded in or after 2014, with artists from Europe, the Americas, and Asia working through ideas of transformation, identity, and speculative futures.
Beyond the fair itself, Seoul Art Week will bring major museum exhibitions across the city, including shows devoted to Do Ho Suh at MMCA Seoul, Lee Bae at Museum SAN, Koo Jeong A at Leeum Museum of Art, and The Cubists: Inventing Modern Vision at the newly opened Centre Pompidou Hanwha. Neighborhood Nights, the fair’s after-hours city program, will return as well, extending the week into Seoul’s gallery districts and reinforcing the city’s growing centrality in the region’s cultural life.
