Korea News: The Korean MZ Generation Has a Greater Preference for ‘Western Works’ Than Previous Generation

Compared to the previous generation, the Korean MZ generation (Millennials and Generation Z) prefers Western works, and art fairs are ranked higher as places to purchase art.

According to a survey of art fair participants and art auction company members held in Korea by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS), the MZ generation had a higher proportion of European and American artists’ purchases than Korean, Japanese, and Chinese artists’ works. The proportion of Korean artists purchased by members of the MZ generation was 77.5%, more than two percentage points lower than the previous generation (XB generation, 79.8%), and the proportion of Chinese and Japanese artists purchased was 0.2% and 1.7%, respectively, lower than 0.7% and 2.7% of the XB generation. On the other hand, the MZ generation has a high preference for European and American artists’ works, with 12.1% and 6.4%, respectively, higher than the 9.9% and 4.9% of the XB generation.

This trend remained the same in the nationality of works desired to be purchased in the future. When asked about the artists they want to buy within three years, the response rate of “Western creators” was 54.9% among MZ generation collectors, more than five percentage points higher than the XB generation’s 49.0%. In particular, 76.4% of MZ households who purchased art worth more than USD 75,000 (KRW 100 million) within the past three years said they would buy works by overseas artists.

There was also a difference between the MZ generation and the XB generation regarding the place of purchase. The proportion of MZ generation purchases made by domestic galleries was 32.4%, about six percentage points lower than that of the XB generation (38.3%). On the other hand, the proportion of art fair purchases was 30.7% for the MZ generation, which was higher than that of the XB generation (23.7%). In particular, the proportion of direct purchases from artists was 10.1% for the MZ generation, which was higher than that of the XB generation, which recorded 8.9%.

KAMS analyzed that the increase in the number of artists engaged in Instagram activities reflects the tendency to inquire and purchase directly through Instagram, focusing on the MZ generation. As for where they would like to purchase art from in the next three years, the MZ generation accounted for 34.6% of “overseas galleries” responses, which was significantly higher than 21.3% of the XB generation. In particular, the proportion of top MZ generation buyers who purchased more than USD 75,000 (KRW 100 million) within the past three years who wished to purchase from overseas galleries has risen sharply to 65.5%.

By art genre, paintings were the highest at 54.7% for the MZ generation’s recently purchased works. It was followed by drawing at 11.4%, edition at 9.2%, craft/design at 5.9%, and sculpture at 3.7%. Comparing this trend with Generation XB, the proportion of painting purchases was low, while drawing and edition were high. The price of works purchased by MZ Generation collectors over the past three years was the highest at 33.7% with less than USD 3,700 (KRW 5 million). 10 million to 50 million KRW followed at 27.5%, then 5 million to 10 million KRW at 15.1%, and 100 million KRW or more at 13.8%.

By gender, there were 1.4 times more women than men among MZ generation purchasers, and most of them lived in Seoul, the Korean capital. As for occupation, the proportion of office and professional jobs was high, and most of the collectors earned more than $45,000 (60 million won) per year. It is analyzed that there is a high possibility of trading paintings with high decorative properties that suit women’s tastes in terms of the high rate of art purchases by highly educated professional women.

The survey was conducted simultaneously with a questionnaire and interview. A total of 1,361 people participated in the survey, and it was conducted for KIAF, Art Busan, preview participants, and customers of Seoul Auction and K Auction.