Yaejin Sung

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted Access (SIA Only)

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Art Business

First Advisor

Leo Krakowsky

Second Advisor

Maria Sancho-Arroyo

Abstract

This thesis analyses the formation, cultural meaning and changing impact of the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale after its creation in 1995. As the final national pavilion to be erected in the Giardini, the Korean Pavilion was established at a time of significant sociopolitical change within South Korea, as it grew rapidly in modernization and democratization with intensified cultural ambition at the end of the Cold War. The article follows the institutional process that culminated in its construction, revealing how the pavilion emerged as a symbol and an instrument of Korea’s entry onto the global art stage.  Based on a survey of exhibitions between 1995 and 2024, this paper considers how Korean artists and curators employed the pavilion as a site to negotiate identity, tradition, gender, politics and globalization. Special Note: Noteworthy points include the chaining of Special Awards, the greater presence of women curators and surging experimentations that expanded the lexicon of Korean contemporary art. These changes relate to the role of the pavilion in renewing cultural discourse, enabling generational transformation and the Westernization of Korean art towards global contemporary trends. This thesis also contends that the pavilion was key to structural changes in Korea’s cultural policy and an incitement to producing domestic biennales and novel forms of institutional engagement.  Despite many successes, current obstacles for establishing consistent development include minimal or vague documentation, spontaneous associate integration and short-lived curatorial through-line which supports a call for more coalesced structure. The study concludes the Korean Pavilion has been a product and a generator of Korea's cultural globalization. Whether the institution will have a future will depend on its ability to maintain institutional memory, build curatorial expertise and reimagine the pavilion as a dynamic, forward-looking place capable of sustaining new conversations in the global art world.

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