ArtAsiaPacific's November/December issue carries a report on the autumn fair season in Seoul, Tokyo and Jakarta, and the picture it paints is uneven: record crowds in Jakarta, a resilient Japanese market, and a Korean market still well below its 2022 peak.

In Seoul, Kiaf marked its 25th edition — its largest ever, with 175 galleries — closing a five-year partnership with Frieze. The two fairs shared the calendar with the Busan and Gwangju Biennales, making for what the report describes as the most crowded Seoul art week yet. But the numbers behind the bustle are sobering: Korean art sales peaked near 1 trillion won (about $743.8 million) in 2022 and have since fallen roughly 25 percent, to around 615 billion won (about $457.5 million).

Tokyo Gendai, held 11–13 September at Pacifico Yokohama with 69 regional and overseas galleries, offered a contrast. Japan defied the global downturn in 2024 with a two percent increase in art sales, keeping its place as Asia's second-largest market. The fair has also settled its future: after moving to autumn to align with the Korean fairs, it will relocate to the Ariake GYM-EX, a former 2020 Olympic arena, with new dates of 4–7 November 2027.

Art Jakarta, meanwhile, drew a record 41,646 visitors to its 16th edition at JIExpo Kemayoran from 2–4 October, up from about 38,000 the year before. Taken together, the three fairs suggest a regional circuit that is busy and well attended, even as sales in Korea remain a quarter below their peak.