By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

BEIJING ― In the flourishing 798 art zone of Beijing's industrial Dashanzi district, there are more than 300 artists' studios, art galleries from around the world including Korean galleries, bookshops and restaurants.

Artside, a Korean gallery based in Seoul, has opened an associate gallery in Beijing in April, becoming the seventh Korean gallery in that city.

The gallery is one of a number of commercial galleries flocking to the booming art district to join the emerging Chinese contemporary arts in the world art scene.

But the gallery began introducing Chinese contemporary arts for the first time in Korea 10 years ago when the now ``blue chip'' artists were almost unknown.

``Artists such as Feng Zheng Jie, Liiin, Yue Minjun and Zhang Xiaogang were unknown 10 years ago. But our gallery continued to introduce them to Koreans over the last 10 years,'' Kim Mi-ryoung, a curator of Artside, said in an interview with The Korea Times.

``But now we are introducing aspiring Korean contemporary artists such as Moon Kyung-won and Bahk Seon-ghi here in the district to help their artworks appeal to more international art-savvy people here,'' she said.

The gallery now has an exhibition of the work of Korean artist Lee Jae-hyo, which will run until Nov. 11.

``Dashanzi is one of the largest art districts in Beijing (There are about 10 art districts in Beijing). And the district is also one of the most popular tourists attractions. So more than 100 visitors are coming to the gallery every day. Its commercial effect is enormous,'' said Kim.

``Many foreigners visiting here are impressed with Korean artworks on display. They say that Korean artworks are very creative in using materials and Korean artists create their works on a solid artistic base,'' she said.

Apart from Artside, Kim said two other Korean galleries, Muk Gallery and Noon Gallery, are operating in the district.

Kim said that many commercial galleries are opening in Beijing because they want to join the international art scene.

``Beijing is a kind of a gateway for many commercial galleries. Many galleries like our gallery are using the art district as a stepping stone for expanding to other countries here,'' she said.

``The district has great potential as some of the world's top-notch galleries such as Tang Contemporary, Galleria Continua and New Age Gallery are operating here. So just displaying Korean artists' work invites immediate responses from international artists and tourists. It is much easier to trade the artwork,'' said Kim.

She said that the gallery has a dual function in both Seoul and Beijing.

The Seoul gallery continues to feature Chinese contemporary artists while the Beijng one features Korean artists.

Kim said that Chinese contemporary arts bore fruit after the decades-long incubation period of building up infrastructure.

``Many poor Chinese artists began to gather here because these abandoned factory zones have cheap rent. But now it is getting expensive to operate a gallery here,'' she said.

Compared to that of the Korean art districts such as Insadong and Samcheongdong where many galleries are located, Kim said that zoning the certain districts cannot be achieved artificially.

She said that the Dashanzi art district is the result of spontaneous birth as many young desperate artists were eager to express their artistic enthusiasm in the area with cheaper costs when they faced hard times in 1980s.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr