▲ This image captured from the homepage of ArtnGuide shows a collective sale of small shares of a painting by Korean painter Park Seo-bo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

art investment-increase

Investment in small shares of artworks increases in recent 3 yrs

SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) -- Total art investments into small shares of blue-chip paintings in South Korea amounted to nearly 100 billion won (US$78.5 million) over the past 3 1/2 years, industry data showed Monday.

Four local online art investment platforms, including industry leader ArtnGuide, allow consumers to invest in iconic artworks by buying small ownership stakes, attracting small-sum investors interested in diversifying their investment portfolios to the 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 investment was made since the new platform was first 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 artworks from individual investors in the country. Moreover, a local major auction house, K Auction, has also engaged in the new platform business.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]