Korea has fallen into a "goods craze." "Goods," meaning art products, are derivative items created based on the intellectual property (IP) of specific figures, works, or brands. These days, young culture enthusiasts are enthusiastic about "identity consumption," expressing their beliefs and values through goods. Following the National Museum of Korea's "MU:DS," the Jogye Order has even introduced "BUD:DS." Amid this trend, an art fair specializing in street art, graffiti, and art toys — classified as "subculture" — is being held.
The event is "Urban Break & Toy Con Seoul 2026," which opens at COEX in Seoul on the 30th and runs through Aug. 2. Urban Break began in 2020 and is now in its seventh edition this year. It started by introducing street art, which is slightly removed from fine art, under the name "Urban Art," and has recently been shining as an event. Urban Break differs in character from existing gallery-centered art fairs. It is an "artist-centered" event, where artists themselves visit the fair site and staff their booths. Unlike the nature of an "artist art market," the organizers carefully select artists and lead the booth curation. This year, it has joined hands with "Toy Con Seoul," a global art toy fair. This is welcome news for collectors of limited-edition "art toys" made by artists. Visitors can enjoy the event, which brings together 355 artists from 15 countries in one place, with a single integrated admission ticket.
The flagship program is the Cookie Run special exhibition "Brave Journey." It utilizes the flagship IP of game company Devsisters. About 30 artists from 10 countries present works reinterpreting Cookie Run characters in their own ways. The guest country of honor is Japan. About 40 Japanese artists present works ranging from neo-pop and graffiti to Buddhist paintings and traditional textiles. The representative artist is Yasutomo Sasada, known for his work with 0.3mm color pens.
A support program from the Korea Arts Management Service has also been prepared. It expands the IP of emerging artists into art toys and art objets. It also helps domestic artists advance overseas. Jang Won-chul, CEO of Urban Complex and the general director, said, "When an artist's creation expands into IP, brands, and markets, creation also becomes sustainable."
