Jeju Biennale marked its fourth edition in November with the theme of “drift,” inviting some 87 artists from 14 countries to participate. The regional biennale is a latecomer in South Korea's biennale scene, following far behind the Gwangju Biennale and the Busan Biennale.

Since its inauguration in 2017, it has continuously suffered from internal conflicts over whether it should continue. Jeju Province's budget for this year's biennale was around 1.2 billion won, a cut of 600 million won from the previous edition.

“What is urgent for now is to increase the budget to continue the biennale, which is far too little to run such a big event,” said Lee Jong-hoo, artistic director of the Jeju Biennale and director of the Jeju Museum of Art, on Nov. 29.

For the next biennale to be possible, Lee said establishing an organizing committee dedicated to the biennale is crucial. The Jeju Biennale at the moment has a system in which the Jeju Museum of Art, the biennale organizer, signs a contract with an exhibition agency to present the biennale.

As the museum director, Lee volunteered to become the biennale director this time after witnessing conflicts in preparing the art event.

“It will take time to change the system, but if Jeju Biennale has to continue, an organizing committee or foundation is the first step we have to take to improve the system,” he said.

Born on the island, Lee studied the regional history and chose the theme of “drift” which encompasses the identity of the island as well as immigrants.

With the limited budget, Lee invited the participating artists to research the region and create works on-site.

“Considering the expenses to transport works from overseas, it was much more efficient for us to invite the artists to stay on the island for a period of time to create works here, which I think led to showcasing many unique works,” Lee said.

Another factor he considers important to continuing the biennale is the public consensus to keep the international art event. Lee mentioned a survey that showed only three percent of the residents surveyed visited the biennale while around 50 percent thought the biennale should continue.

“I thought that the biennale should become more familiar to people here,” Lee said. As part of the efforts, he brought in an exhibition of Western art masterpieces to lure more audiences to the biennale. In cooperation with the Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibition “Monet to Warhol: Reading 400 Years of Western Art Through Masterpieces” is on view coinciding with the biennale, showing 143 pieces from the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the national art museum of South Africa.

Those who hold tickets to the biennale are offered a discount on admission to the exhibition, Lee said.

“The result of the ongoing biennale will be used to see how we can run the biennale better and discuss if we really need one,” Lee said. “I do really want to facilitate a discussion with the local art circles and provincial assembly during the biennale.

"We need Jeju Biennale here as I believe a biennale functions as an opportunity to provoke diverse thoughts and discourses in an artistic way, which is impossible in ordinary life," he said.