Appreciating art at galleries and exhibitions is a pure joy for Jeong Hye-young, a 35-year-old office worker in Seoul, not just because it takes her mind off her stress-filled work life but also because she sees how the works increase in value.

“I don’t think art is only for the rich. After starting to buy paintings, I feel like I know more about the artists and truly enjoy the artworks,” said Jeong, who collects paintings by contemporary artists including Oh Chi-gyun, best known for his hand-painted “fingerworks.”

“Price values of paintings increasing is also an appealing factor of collecting arts that it can be considered as an investment, not just as a subject of appreciation,” said Jeong.

Jeong is among a growing number of people, especially those in their 20s and 30s, investing in art.

At an auction held March 23, local auctioneer Seoul Auction sold 95 percent of the 146 paintings, prints and sculptures it offered. Combined, they went for 10.4 billion won ($9.2 million).

“Many bidders participating in the auction were those in their 20s and 30s,” the auction company said, declining to give numbers, citing protection of personal information.

The growing interest in art investment is part of a new golden era for the South Korean art market, which went through a long period of depression after its previous heyday between 2005 and 2007.

Art pieces by Korean masters, including the late Kim Tschang-yeul, are hitting new highs in value in light of exploding demand, according to a recent report by art appraisal firm the Korea Art Authentication & Appraisal Research Center.

Across major markets in Asia, art investment is gaining ground as a result of ultralow interest rates and high liquidity.

A report released by investment bank UBS early in March showed that art broker Sotheby’s reported strong sales in Asia in 2020, with auction sales reaching $932 million. Compared with people from other age groups, millennials were more willing to purchase at higher prices online.

Of the 2,569 rich collectors around the world surveyed for the report, 56 percent belonged to “Generation MZ,” comprising people born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. They spent an average of $228,000 to purchase artworks, and 30 percent spent more than $1 million.

The rising popularity of art investment can be attributed to online platforms that facilitate online auctions and new types of art investment such as co-sharing, or investing in fractional shares, according to market watchers. But investors are drawn to art, rather than stocks or cryptocurrency, because it raises hopes of stable financial returns.

“Investing in real estate requires a lump sum of money while cryptocurrency is highly risky,” said Song Ja-ho, CEO of art co-sharing platform operator Pica Project. “Those young collectors seem to think art is something special as they can own and enjoy while they can get some financial gain from it,” he added.

People find merit in art investment in Korea because it is somewhat free from taxation. Purchases of artwork for 60 million won or less are exempt from tax. For artworks priced over 60 million, a 20 percent tax is imposed only on 10 percent of the sales price. Transactions involving works by living artists do not incur any tax.