Autumn in the northern hemisphere ushered in an exciting new injection of in- person art happenings, recalling the full body highs and head spins of pre-Covid-19 days.

In Seoul, the art community rejoiced as flagship art fair KIAF returned to a cheek- to-cheek affair. Meanwhile numerous gallery openings buoyed the front-facing selling event, including Austrian outfit Thaddaeus Ropac’s opening of its first Asian dealership in the upmarket neighborhood of Hannam. But the most anticipated event was the October 8 reopening of the luxuriously renovated Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, located up the hill. The museum has been largely in hibernation since its director, Madam Hong Ra-hee, wife of the late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, stepped down in 2017. With her only son, Lee Jae-yong, back at the helm of the largest chaebol in Korea after an early release from prison in August following his conviction for bribery and embezzlement, it seemed natural that the family’s museum would resume its cultural activities. Luck seems to be on Ropac’s side, and time will tell if more galleries will flock to the chic district of Seoul now that the trendsetting private museum, home to a multi-billion-dollar collection, is back in action.

• Reports