Online art rental gains popularity among young Korean women

Open Gallery CEO Park Euy-kyu

Open Gallery, a pioneering online art rental platform that first debuted in South Korea in 2013, is experiencing a surge in popularity among women in their 30s and 40s. With a cumulative collection of 92,381 artworks, the platform is on the verge of surpassing the 100,000 mark within its first 10 years of operation.

Open Gallery, which introduced the concept of renting artwork online, has expanded its business by offering customers the opportunity to use their purchased artwork as an investment, allowing them to generate profits.

“In Korea, Open Gallery is the only platform distributing 5,000 to 10,000 or more artworks monthly through online art rental services. “We are the top platform distributing art to the general public,” Open Gallery CEO Park Euy-kyu recently told Maeil Business Newspaper.

“Seventy percent of our total customers are women in their 30s and 40s who value practical consumption and have a strong desire to appreciate art. They prefer renting over purchasing because it is more cost-effective than buying expensive artwork,” he added.

Rental costs are set at 1 percent to 3 percent of the artwork’s price, making art accessible to the general public. Depending on the size of the artwork, rentals start from as low as 30,000 won ($23) per month. Open Gallery visits customers’ homes every three months to replace the rented artwork with new pieces.

Open Gallery is currently looking to art sales and art tech services as its next growth drivers. When customers who have purchased artworks from Open Gallery wish to rent or sell them via the platform, Open Gallery actively seeks out new customers. If the artwork is rented or sold, customers receive a share of the profits.

“By analyzing art rental history through the customer data accumulated over the past 10 years, we can calculate the profit margin, which has exceeded an average of 20 percent to date,” Park said.