Investment in small shares of artworks increases in recent 3 yrs

The first-ever auction organized independently by the Galleries Association of Korea was held at the Westin Josun Seoul, Jan. 26. Courtesy of Galleries Association of Korea

Total investments into small shares of blue-chip artwork in Korea amounted to nearly 100 billion won ($78.5 million) over the past three-and-a-half years, industry data showed Monday.

Four local online art investment platforms, including industry leader ArtnGuide, allow consumers to invest in iconic artwork by buying small ownership stakes, attracting small-sum investors interested in diversifying their portfolios to a field that had been previously only available to the wealthy.

According to the data compiled by the four companies, a combined 96.3 billion won worth of such art portfolio investments have been made since the platform was launched in November 2018.

The yearly total has been on a sharp rise from 270 million won in the last two months of 2018 to 2.5 billion won in 2019, 5.1 billion won in 2020 and 54.4 billion won in 2021.

For the first four months of 2022, investors have already poured 31 billion won into art pieces at a fraction of the traditional cost.

Insiders expected that the industry's annual total will reach 90 billion won for 2022 on the back of rising demand for artwork from individual investors here.

Local major auction house, K Auction, has also engaged in the new platform business. (Yonhap)

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