Lee Young-joo says Pace Gallery’s Seoul presence is meant to do more than sell art and help place Korean artists in a broader art history. She says she pushed the gallery to open in Seoul after working in Hong Kong and seeing Korea’s market appetite outgrow its infrastructure. Her recent projects include exhibitions for Lee Kun-yong, Kim Whanki and Adolph Gottlieb, and Park Young-sook.
Installation view of the "Park Young Sook: When Form Meets Gesture" exhibition at Pace Gallery Seoul in 2026 / Courtesy of Pace Gallery
For the first two years after joining Pace Gallery, Lee Young-joo found herself constantly shuttling between Seoul and Hong Kong.
In 2015, the blue-chip New York gallery was looking toward Hong Kong, not Seoul. The Asian art market was expanding rapidly and the world’s major dealers were following the money into China.
Lee was brought in as a senior director to help with Pace’s growing Hong Kong operation, where she watched the city’s art world gradually transform.
