Tina Kim has emerged as a key force in elevating Korean modern and contemporary art on the global stage. Photos by Vincent Tullo | Courtesy Tina Kim Gallery

Few people—aside from perhaps her mother—have played as pivotal a role in positioning South Korea on the global art map as New York-based dealer Tina Kim. Born in South Korea and raised in California, Kim was immersed in the art world from an early age, accompanying her mother, Hyun-Sook Lee, on artist visits and exhibition tours, and actively contributing to the organization of exhibitions and publications. Lee is the founder of Kukje Gallery in Seoul—arguably South Korea’s most influential gallery—which is where Kim began her career, helping to mount exhibitions for some of contemporary art’s most established names, including Louise Bourgeois, Roni Horn, Anish Kapoor, Alexander Calder, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Joan Mitchell. These early experiences laid the foundation for what would become a groundbreaking international career.

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The 1980s marked a period of rapid economic growth in South Korea, driven by post-dictatorship modernization efforts after 1979. As the 1988 Olympics approached, the government recognized the cultural and diplomatic potential of the arts to enhance the country’s global profile. That moment coincided with the rise of Kukje Gallery and marked a new chapter for the Korean art ecosystem. In the decades since, South Korea’s creative industries—especially pop culture—have fueled a global surge in visibility, with the so-called “Korean Wave” extending well beyond K-pop and K-dramas to include contemporary Korean art, which has increasingly captured international attention and acclaim.

Still, Kim chose to put down roots in New York after her studies, driven by a desire to carve out her own identity in the art world. “I wanted to have something that was mine,” Kim tells Observer when we catch up with her ahead of the spring art fairs. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of her brick-and-mortar space in Chelsea.

Kim’s gallery first opened on 57th Street in 2002, taking over a space once occupied by London’s storied Anthony d’Offay Gallery, known for its ambitious presentations of artists like Joseph Beuys, Cindy Sherman and Gilbert & George. “Anthony was somebody I had worked very closely with on many exhibitions,” Kim recalls, adding that she initially continued her collaboration with Kukje Gallery. “I continued working closely with my mother, mainly in the secondary market, and geared towards the needs of the market in Korea. I was often going to auctions or helping with institutional exhibitions in the States.”

She admits that her mother was initially less than thrilled about her decision to open an independent gallery rather than remain fully involved in the family business. She worried that her daughter would be “literally throwing herself into the shark tank” of New York’s notoriously competitive art scene and feared the move might spark unnecessary tensions with American colleagues, since many of the artists Kim hoped to work with already had representation in New York.

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A fundamental shift came in 2015, when Kim moved to her current space in Chelsea, debuting with “Happy Together,” an exhibition curated by Clara Kim, now chief curator at L.A. MOCA, featuring a broad constellation of Asian artists responding to social and political tensions in the region. “That show really set the future direction of the........

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