When Frieze lands in Seoul each September, the city pulses to the rhythm of performance, projection, and provocations. But for its fourth edition in 2025, the fair isn’t simply returning—it’s stretching its limbs, curling through alleyways, rooftops, and subterranean studios to give voice to a new polyphony of artistic expression.
From 3 to 6 September 2025, the cavernous COEX convention center in Gangnam will again serve as Frieze Seoul’s anchor. But the soul of the fair will drift far beyond its walls. Director Patrick Lee calls the newly expanded program “a reflection of the extraordinary depth and breadth of Korea’s contemporary art landscape,” promising encounters that not only represent the local but rewire how we see the global.
Mapping the Pulse of a City-Wide Fair
Frieze Seoul 2025 launches with a sprawling city-wide initiative, activating Seoul’s art districts like Euljiro, Hannam, Cheongdam, and Samcheong. These aren’t sterile gallery hops—they’re curated immersions. In Euljiro, often dubbed the ‘print alley’ of Seoul, non-profits and artist-run spaces crack open their doors, with figures like Haegue Yang setting the tone.
As the fair progresses, gravity shifts toward Hannam, where powerhouses like Lehmann Maupin and Esther Schipper entwine with emerging Korean voices. Then onto Cheongdam and Samcheong, where White Cube, Gladstone, Kukje Gallery, and Perrotin create a polyphonic crescendo of commercial and conceptual energies.
Frieze LIVE: Performance as Provocation
Frieze LIVE will spotlight 11 next-generation Korean artists whose practices pierce binaries and boundaries. At the Art Sonje Center, artists including Yagwang, Younghae Chang, Jimin Hah, and Ru Kim will activate queer narratives and gender-sensitive inquiries—less performance, more invocation.
Expect moments that blur bodily presence with digital ghosts. These performances will echo through Dosan Park and Kukje Gallery’s K2 space, extending the temporal logic of the fair. One might encounter a ritual, a reenactment, or a refusal—each fragment offering a frame into contemporary Korea’s shifting socio-cultural landscape.
Frieze Film: Rooftop Visions and Hidden Histories
On the rooftop of the Seoul Museum of Art, Frieze Film becomes a séance. From 2 to 4 September, screenings will dive into occult, ritual, and spiritual aesthetics. Artists like Amit Dutta, Angela Su, and Hsu Chia-Wei conjure works that are as cinematic as they are shamanic.
These films aren’t escapism. They are mnemonic devices. In the haze of a Seoul evening, they ask: what spirits animate our architectures? Whose histories lie in our shadows?
Studio 159: Where Dialogue Sparks Fire
Meanwhile, Studio 159 will turn talk into a political act. Conversations will range from AI’s creeping presence in the art world to the intersection of queer Asian identities and digital memory. Expect real debate—raw, unscripted, necessary.
The Korean art market will also get its moment under the microscope. As Seoul becomes increasingly central to global art capital flows, what does it mean for small galleries struggling to stay afloat? Where is innovation happening, and where is it being bought and sold?
Anchoring Vision: Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho, Liam Gillick
At COEX, artist duo Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho will present a ‘process-led environment’ that begs slow looking in a world of instant gratification. Liam Gillick, meanwhile, crafts a plexiglass and furniture installation that transforms spectators into participants—a quiet rebellion against passive viewership.
Why Frieze Seoul 2025 Matters
Frieze Seoul 2025 doesn’t just mirror Korea’s contemporary art—it’s a projection of what’s to come. In a city oscillating between tradition and acceleration, the fair becomes a time capsule and a crystal ball.
It’s not about what art is. It’s about what art can do.
Expect a fair that doesn’t just show you where we are, but dares to ask: where are we going next?