Japan and South Korea Find Resilience as Global Art Sales Fall to $57.5 Billion

More Art Changes Hands as Prices Come Under Pressure

Japan and South Korea are showing pockets of resilience during the global art market's most severe downturn in more than a decade. Worldwide sales fell 12% to an estimated $57.5 billion in 2024, yet the number of transactions rose 3% to 40.5 million. Buyers were still purchasing art, but more of the activity moved toward affordable works.

Japan's fine art auction sales dropped 19% to $149.8 million in 2024, a smaller decline than the global fall of 27.3% for that measure. South Korea's art auction sales fell 29% to $61.7 million, following several years of rapid expansion. Both countries faced pressure, even as their galleries, collectors and cultural institutions continued to build a broader market.

Tokyo and Seoul have attracted increasing attention while New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong grapple with declining sales and changing collector habits. Their strengths differ: Japan relies heavily on local buyers and direct gallery relationships, while South Korea has grown through younger collectors, government support and major international fairs.

As of August 30, 2025, the central story is therefore one of relative resilience, rather than uninterrupted growth. Japan's market expanded faster than the global market between 2019 and 2023. South Korea entered the downturn with more galleries, more fairs and far more artworks changing hands than before its recent boom.

Why Global Sales Fell While Transactions Rose

The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report put worldwide art sales at $57.5 billion in 2024. The contraction was concentrated at the most expensive end of the market: the number of artworks selling at auction for more than $10 million dropped 39%. Public auction sales fell 25%, while dealer sales declined 6%.

Economic uncertainty, high interest rates and geopolitical tensions made buyers and sellers more cautious, particularly when very large sums were involved. A reduction in expensive sales can pull down the market's total value even when many less expensive works continue to sell.

The increase to 40.5 million transactions helps explain that pattern. Transaction volume counts purchases, while sales value measures the money spent. More purchases alongside lower spending points to a market shifting toward lower prices and a broader base of collectors.

Smaller dealers reported sales growth, and the middle and lower price ranges proved more resilient. Japan's concentration of relatively affordable transactions fits this change. South Korea's expanded collector base also gives its market a wider foundation, although its auction results show that a growing audience does not remove the pressure on sales.

Japan's Recovery Meets a Difficult Auction Year

Japan's art market grew 11% between 2019 and 2023, reaching an estimated $681 million in 2023. The global market grew just 1% over the same period, giving Japan a growth rate 10 percentage points higher.

That expansion followed decades of stagnation after the collapse of Japan's economic bubble in the 1980s. Japanese collectors had been among the world's most influential during the bubble years. The more recent recovery has been quieter, taking place in a market long regarded as conservative and inward looking.

Japan's 2024 fine art auction sales of $149.8 million represented a 19% decline. The comparable global decline of 27.3% was 8.3 percentage points steeper. Japan still lost sales value, but demand for the works offered remained relatively strong.

The number of lots offered was the second highest in a decade, and the sell-through rate reached a high for the decade of 73.9%. A lot is an item offered at auction; the sell-through rate measures the proportion that finds a buyer. In Japan's case, roughly three out of every four offered lots sold.

Japan's larger supply of auction lots and strong selling rate add detail that the falling dollar total alone misses. The market was processing substantial activity even as the money generated by auction sales decreased.

Local Buyers and Lower Prices Support Japan

Japanese collectors accounted for 84% of sales, making domestic demand central to the market. Long relationships between collectors and galleries help provide continuity and some protection from changes in international buying.

Japan's prices also make participation possible below the level usually associated with headline auctions. In 2023, 91% of auction lots sold for less than $10,000, while 93% of dealer transactions were below $50,000. These figures describe a market in which most purchases happen far below the multimillion dollar sales that suffered most globally.

Galleries remain the main setting for buying art. Some 74% of gallery sales happened in person, rather than at fairs or online. Art fairs accounted for only 10% of dealer sales, compared with 29% globally, and overseas fairs accounted for just 2%. Online sales represented 5% of transactions.

Japan's local focus gives its market stability, but also limits its reach. Galleries depend strongly on buyers who can visit and maintain personal relationships. International fairs and digital sales remain relatively small routes to finding new customers.

Recent tax changes have made participation in Japanese art fairs easier for international galleries, helping increase engagement with the wider art market. Rising wages, modest inflation and increased consumer spending have also contributed to greater confidence among collectors.

Japan's art economy extends beyond buying and selling works. It includes more than 2,060 professional galleries and dealers, 47,320 visual artists and over 5,000 museums, about 1,000 of which specialize in art. The sector directly employs around 12,700 people and supports $136 million in related business, including logistics and framing.

Famous Artists Bring Attention, but Access Remains Uneven

Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara and Takashi Murakami are among Japan's internationally renowned artists. Their highest auction prices are often achieved abroad, while their popularity helps generate interest in Japanese contemporary art at home.

Yu Nishimura is among the rising artists attracting attention, with auction totals surging in recent years. Tokyo Gendai, Art Collaboration Kyoto and Art Week Tokyo are drawing more international interest and providing places to present new talent.

Japan still faces a need to give emerging and female artists greater visibility. The market's account identifies their limited participation as a challenge and places their share of gallery turnover at just 20%. Turnover means the money galleries receive from sales, so wider recognition needs to translate into purchases as well as exhibitions.

Japan's combination of famous international names, accessible prices and a large domestic gallery network offers several routes into collecting. Its challenge is to connect those routes more effectively, allowing attention around established artists and major events to reach a wider range of working artists.

South Korea's Expansion Faces a Sales Correction

South Korea's art market expanded rapidly over the past decade, supported by government policies, favorable tax treatment and a new generation of buyers. Sales revenue exceeded 1 trillion KRW in 2022, when more than 103,000 artworks were sold, over twice the number sold in 2019.

The infrastructure grew alongside those purchases. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of private gallery spaces increased 75%, while the number of art fairs rose 34%. More places to show and buy art helped broaden the market beyond its earlier base.

Seoul became a major center through events including Frieze Seoul and Kiaf Seoul, which together attract tens of thousands of visitors and more than 100 leading galleries. The city now ranks third globally for its number of private museums. Samsung and Hyundai are among the major corporations investing heavily in the arts.

South Korea's 2024 art auction sales fell 29% to $61.7 million. Both the number of lots offered and the number sold decreased. Even after that contraction, the figures remained among the highest of the past decade, reflecting the larger market built during the preceding expansion.

China's auction sales fell 46.1% in the comparison accompanying South Korea's results, a decline 17.1 percentage points steeper. Korea's broader base offers support, but falling supply and fewer completed auction sales show that the downturn affected activity as well as prices.

Younger Collectors and Public Support Shape Korea

South Korea's Millennials and Generation Z, commonly grouped under the label MZ Generation, have become increasingly active collectors. They approach art as a cultural interest and as an investment alternative to property or shares.

Government support includes the Art Promotion Act and a fund of 1.75 trillion KRW for cultural content. These policies have supported cooperation across the cultural sector and eased export restrictions. Tax exemptions for certain art sales also encourage collecting and investment.

Seoul's international position has benefited as increasing censorship in China prompts more international galleries and businesses to choose the Korean capital as an Asian base. Its fairs, museums and corporate investment provide several reasons for art businesses to maintain a presence.

International participation nevertheless faces pressure. The number of international galleries at major fairs has declined, prompting doubts about Seoul's ability to sustain its position as a leading art center. New events, major museum exhibitions and innovative independent fairs continue to keep the scene active.

South Korea's experience shows how quickly a market can gain scale through new collectors and institutions. The 2024 contraction also makes sustained purchasing more important: a larger number of galleries and fairs needs a continuing flow of buyers to support sales.

Japanese and Korean Fairs Build Connections

Art fairs play different roles in the two countries. Frieze Seoul, Kiaf Seoul and Art Busan are central to South Korea's growth and international profile. In Japan, galleries still account for most sales, while fairs are becoming more prominent as places for international contact.

Art Busan has redefined itself as a platform for experimentation and regional connections. Its curated sections feature emerging artists and projects bringing different cultures together. A partnership with Tokyo Gendai in 2025 reflects growing cooperation between Japanese and Korean art institutions.

Tokyo Gendai and Art Collaboration Kyoto are attracting local and international attention. Art Collaboration Kyoto's focus on exchanges between cultures and programming across the city gives it a different format from the more standardized fairs found elsewhere in Asia.

Art Week Tokyo also contributes to Japan's growing international visibility. Together, these events provide opportunities to encounter artists outside the familiar auction names, while connecting local gallery networks with visitors and businesses from abroad.

Japan's small share of dealer sales through fairs means these events operate within a market still anchored in galleries. Korea's fairs occupy a more central commercial role. Collaboration can bring the two systems closer without requiring them to work in the same way.

How the Regional Numbers Compare

China and Hong Kong together account for 80% of Asia's art sales and 19% of the global market. Their scale means that weakness there carries much more weight in regional totals than changes in Japan or South Korea.

The broader market figures put China's 2024 sales at $8.4 billion, down 31%, alongside the 46.1% auction decline cited in the comparison with Korea. Hong Kong recorded a 40% sales decline in the first half of 2024. High value sales struggled, while economic uncertainty led collectors to tighten their budgets; the middle of the market performed better.

Japan holds about 5% of Asia's art market, and South Korea's share is smaller still. Their resilience therefore represents strength in smaller markets rather than a replacement for the region's dominant centers. Their relative stability and adaptability have been supported by affordable works, broader collector participation and increasing international engagement.

Younger collectors from China, Taiwan and South Korea are helping drive demand for contemporary and ultra-contemporary art. The latter term refers to very recent artistic production. Auction demand for artists born after 1990 has nevertheless softened, showing that enthusiasm for new work varies across artists and price levels.

Women artists and younger collectors are becoming more prominent alongside broader social changes. Established Asian names, including Japan's Yayoi Kusama and Zao Wou-Ki, have achieved record prices, while younger artists gain international recognition. Asian galleries are expanding into Western capitals, and Western galleries are representing more Asian artists.

The Dates Behind the Shift and the Events Ahead

Japan and South Korea reached the downturn by different routes. Japan's recovery was gradual and rooted in domestic sales; Korea's expansion brought a rapid increase in artworks sold, gallery spaces and fairs. The main milestones show how much changed before the weaker results of 2024:

• 2019 to 2023: Japan's art market grew 11% to an estimated $681 million, against global growth of 1%.
• 2019 to 2022: South Korea's private gallery spaces increased 75%, and its number of art fairs rose 34%.
• 2022: South Korea's sales revenue exceeded 1 trillion KRW, with more than 103,000 artworks sold.
• 2024: Global sales fell 12%; Japan's fine art auction sales declined 19%, and South Korea's art auction sales dropped 29%.
• 2025: Art Busan's partnership with Tokyo Gendai adds a connection between the two countries' art scenes.

Dealers in both countries expect stable or improved sales in 2025, with the greatest optimism in the middle of the market. Political and economic volatility remain their largest concerns. Broader participation and international engagement offer reasons for cautious confidence, while the recent auction declines keep expectations measured.

Frieze Seoul, Kiaf Seoul, Tokyo Gendai and the Aichi Triennale are among the major events on the autumn calendar. Exact event dates were not specified. They offer opportunities to discover artists and strengthen the region's position as a center for contemporary art.

Collectors, galleries and artists face a practical change: more attention is turning toward affordable purchases and a wider buying public. Japan's local relationships and Korea's expanded cultural network give each country a different foundation for navigating that shift.

The Bottom Line

• Global art sales fell 12% to $57.5 billion in 2024, while transactions rose 3% to 40.5 million.
• Japan's market grew 11% between 2019 and 2023; its fine art auction sales then fell 19% in 2024.
• Domestic collectors and lower prices remain central to Japan's market.
• South Korea's art auction sales fell 29% in 2024 after rapid growth in sales, galleries and fairs.
• Younger collectors, public support and international events help sustain South Korea's broader market.
• China and Hong Kong remain Asia's dominant markets, but experienced steeper sales declines.
• Japanese and Korean fairs are building connections, including Art Busan's 2025 partnership with Tokyo Gendai.
• Dealers expect stable or improved sales in 2025, with political and economic uncertainty remaining major concerns.