Total art investments into small shares of blue-chip paintings in South Korea amounted to nearly 100 billion won ($78.5 million) over the past 3 1/2 years, industry data showed.

Four local online art investment platforms, including industry leader ArtnGuide, allow consumers to invest in iconic artworks by buying small ownership stakes, attracting small-sum investors interested in diversifying their investment portfolios to the field that had been previously only available to the wealthy.

According to the data compiled by the four companies, a combined 96.3 billion won worth of such art portfolio investment was made since the new platform was first launched in November 2018.

The yearly total has been on a sharp rise from 270 million won in the last two months of 2018 to 2.5 billion won in 2019, 5.1 billion won in 2020 and 54.4 billion won in 2021. (Yonhap)