Korea transforms into giant open-air gallery this month

Korea is currently being transformed into a colossal outdoor art exhibition, spanning the entirety of September. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the Korea Arts Management Service, officially inaugurated the 2026 Korea Art Festival on Tuesday. This event brings together world-renowned biennales, major commercial fairs, and nearly 100 museums for a nationwide cultural extravaganza.

This is the festival's third year, and it continues to strive towards making art more accessible to a wider audience. The ambitious month-long schedule unites four major regional biennials - held in Gwangju, Busan, Jeju, and Gyeonggi Province - with two major commercial fairs in Seoul, namely Kiaf Seoul and Frieze Seoul. Furthermore, 96 public and private museums spread across the country are contributing to the festivities through specially curated exhibitions.

To ensure the arts are accessible to all, the government has subsidized thousands of entry tickets, offering discounts between 30 to 70 percent. Over 13,000 of these discounted tickets have already been sold, indicating a strong public interest in the event.