Visitors look around booths at Kiaf Seoul at the Coex exhibition center in southern Seoul, Sept. 3, 2025. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

Seoul is gearing up for a blockbuster month of art and culture in September, as Kiaf Seoul and Frieze Seoul return with expanded citywide programs ranging from classical music and public art to film and late-night gallery events.

This year’s Kiaf Seoul, Korea’s largest international art fair, runs from Sept. 2-6 at Coex in southern Seoul under the theme “Coexistence,” reflecting on the relationship between humans and technology in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

The Galleries Association of Korea is introducing two special exhibitions — “Humal” and “Virtual Vital” — that examine how human instinct, animal vitality and digital systems intersect in contemporary art.

“Humal,” a portmanteau of “human” and “animal,” brings together seven Korean artists, including Kang Gun, Kwak Ji-soo and Hwang Soo-yeon, in sculpture, installation, painting and photography that foreground the body and primal sensibilities long suppressed by rationalism and civilization.

This combined image shows seven artists participating in the Kiaf Seoul 2026 special exhibition “Humal.” Clockwise from upper left are Kang Gun, Kwak Ji-soo, Sung Byung-hee, Oh Hyung-keun, Hwang Soo-yeon, Lee Hwan-kwon and Lee Dong-wook. Courtesy of Galleries Association of Korea

“Virtual Vital” extends the questions raised in “Humal” into augmented reality, inviting visitors to access digital works via QR codes embedded throughout the fairgrounds. As they move through Coex, guests will toggle between physical artworks and augmented reality interventions, experiencing a layered environment in which virtual and real spaces overlap.

Kiaf is also strengthening its classical music program with “Kiaf Classic,” headlined this year by star pianist Cho Seong-jin. The concert will take place Sept. 4 at the Coex Auditorium, translating the fair’s curatorial theme into sound.

Running in tandem with Kiaf, Frieze Seoul’s fifth edition is scheduled for Sept. 2-5 at Coex and will anchor a wider “Frieze Week” of public art, film and talks across the city.

In its flagship “Frieze Live” program, British artist Ryan Gander will debut “The Find Seoul,” a public art project that hides 16,000 specially minted coins around Euljiro, Hannam, Cheongdam, Samcheong and the Coex area from Aug. 31 to Sept. 10. Visitors will be invited to discover, keep or pass on the coins, turning everyday urban navigation into a participatory artwork.

Frieze is partnering with the Busan Biennale on a special film screening program at SongEun in Cheongdam that expands Busan’s exhibition theme, “Dissonant Chorus,” into the capital.

From Sept. 3-5, Kiaf Seoul, Frieze Seoul and the Korea Arts Management Service will jointly host a series of talks at Coex, bringing together curators, museum and directors and artists to discuss topics such as biennales, Asian contemporary art and collection practices. Sessions will feature Nam June Paik Art Center director Paik Nam-hee alongside international museum leaders, and panels with figures like Venice Biennale Korea Pavilion curator Choi Bit-n and artist Kim Ah-young.

Beyond Coex, galleries in key art districts of Samcheong-dong, Hannam-dong and Cheongdam-dong plan to keep their doors open late during Frieze Week, turning the city into an extended exhibition space for visiting collectors and local audiences.