The Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Hong Kong is hosting the exhibition “2026 From Korea to Hong Kong: Expanding Horizons” through May 30, featuring standout pieces by the Korean galleries participating in Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 (Mar. 25–29). Held every March, Art Basel Hong Kong is Asia’s biggest contemporary art fair, an offshoot of the prestigious Art Basel contemporary art fair that began in Switzerland. A total of 240 galleries from 41 countries participated in Art Basel Hong Kong this year. Some of the fairgoers’ favorite pieces by Korean artists are being featured at KCC Hong Kong.

This exhibition is collaborating with 11 Korean galleries to present pieces by 11 artists, with each gallery showcasing one artist. The artists (and galleries) represented are Manna Lee (Sun Gallery), Michael Joo (Kukje Gallery), Jae Yong Kim (Hakgojae Gallery), Won Seoung Won (Arario Gallery), Kang Hoon Kang (Johyun Gallery), Kyung-Chul Shin (Leeahn Gallery), Sujin Choi (G Gallery), Jaeseok Lee (Gallery Baton), Youjin Yi (Wooson Gallery), Muyeong Kim (N/A) and Jonghwan Lee (CYLINDER).

The artists in the exhibition present works in such media as painting, photography and installation, each highlighting their unique style. Some of the artworks take a critical look at our society and era, while others evoke individual memories. Taken together, these creative works demonstrate Korean artists’ potential to shape the contemporary art world as they draw upon Asian and Western influences.

This exhibition is part of the “From Korea to Hong Kong” series, which was planned to coincide with last year’s Art Basel Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Art Month. This year, the center has sought to bring on even more galleries and better synchronize the exhibition with Art Basel. Significantly, the center has ensured that a wider range of genres and generations is represented among the artists in the show to give visitors a panoramic view of the landscape of contemporary Korean art.

This exhibition is just the latest in a series of top-notch contemporary art shows organized by KCC Hong Kong. Last fall, the center organized “KITSCH & POP: Korean Pop Art Now” in collaboration with the Seoul Museum of Art and “Unfolding Silence,” an exhibition about Korean abstract art held in partnership with Hong Kong galleries representing Korean artists. This February, the center organized “Echoes in Between,” a show featuring four Korean abstract artists. Since the center regularly highlights different aspects of Korean contemporary artwork with an original choice of themes and artists, don’t be too disappointed if you can’t make the current show—there are sure to be more exciting shows in the future.

Q — Last year, you had another exhibition linked to Art Basel. What’s different about this year’s show?
Every year, KCC Hong Kong holds a variety of exhibitions to introduce the full spectrum of Korean contemporary art to Hong Kong museumgoers. Last year, we launched the “From Korea to Hong Kong” exhibition series to accompany Art Basel Hong Kong and Hong Kong Art Month.

For the first exhibition in that series last year, the center partnered with six Korean galleries to exhibit pieces by Korean artists who had been featured at Art Basel, which was a major achievement. Our goal was to bring Korean art more attention in Hong Kong by linking trends at an international art fair to exhibitions at the center.

This year’s exhibition “From Korea to Hong Kong: Expanding Horizons” represents a major expansion both in scope and scale. We’re working with 11 major Korean galleries that took part in Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 and artists representing a greater variety of generations and genres, which will give visitors a better view of the landscape of Korean contemporary art. Another distinctive feature of this exhibition is that it’s opening during Art Basel and that the participating artists are being invited to the opening ceremony. That’s how we’re emphasizing the exhibition’s contemporaneous quality, as well as its sense of place.

Q — What did you pay particular attention to while preparing for this event?
Our vision with this exhibition was to bring together the work of artists selected by each of the galleries. Because the exhibition doesn’t represent the vision of any single curator, the biggest challenge was how each gallery’s take on Korean contemporary art at Art Basel could be naturally integrated and reorganized at the center.

We focused on preserving the flow inside the space, the visual interaction between the artworks, and the unique characteristics of each gallery while also ensuring that the exhibition would give viewers a coherent experience. Rather than simply moving the artwork into the center, we gave considerable thought to expanding, interpreting and arranging the galleries’ artistic direction and intended messages at Art Basel this year.

We hope visitors will appreciate the harmony achieved by the distinct visual languages of each gallery and examine the intersection between various generations and styles, from rising stars to established artists on the global stage.

Q — What do you hope visitors will find most memorable or significant about this exhibition?
Our hope is that this exhibition will give visitors an up-close-and-personal experience of the energy of contemporary Korean art.

As visitors view both the undisputed masterpieces and the latest efforts by artists carefully selected by these 11 galleries, they will naturally come to understand the topics and sensibilities shared by contemporary Korean art in the international marketplace of art.

And by bringing together established Korean artists and newcomers to the international stage, this exhibition serves to encapsulate the “generational spectrum” in Korean art.

For those unable to visit Art Basel Hong Kong themselves, the exhibition serves as a continuation or extension of the fair. And for those who got to see this year’s Korean galleries at the fair, the exhibition is a chance to discover other pieces by the same artists. Since this series of exhibitions has become one of the center’s signature programs, we hope visitors will remember that we’ll be organizing an encounter with contemporary Korean art around the same time every year.

Q — Do you have a message for potential visitors?
In Hong Kong, March is the month with the most exciting range of artistic activities, and the center has also prepared an ambitious lineup of exhibitions and programs. We hope that many in Hong Kong will drop by the center to experience contemporary Korean artwork for themselves. Following up your time at Art Basel Hong Kong with a visit to our associated exhibition will give visitors greater insight into current trends in Korean art.

We’re preparing a variety of events at the center. We organize Festive Korea and Korea Square every October and November and the K-movie Fest in Hong Kong and Macao every August, as well as the Korean Week in Shenzhen during APEC 2026. In short, we plan to keep introducing visitors to Korean culture not only in Hong Kong but in nearby areas as well.