Post by Felicitas Morhart

Last week, we welcomed Dominika Kustosz-Lee for a guest lecture on Artification of Luxury Brands in Korea at HEC Lausanne - The Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne. Dominika is Top Retail Expert 2025, Fine Art & Luxury artification researcher, and expert on the Korean market and culture (and a Korean citizen herself!!). She is also contributor to the yearly Korean Art Market report, and co-author of the article "The expanding role of Korea in the Global art scene" in the Journal of Korean and Asian Arts (2024). Dominika opened our eyes to a whole new universe. Here are my key-take aways: - Art is of large scale interest in Korea, a phenomenon of the general public, also fuelled by some K-pop stars being avid art collectors - K-(pop)culture has not been a coincidence, but a concerted effort between government and business for soft power - Western Luxury brands should not just bring the West to the East, but start a conversation between cultures - Western Luxury brands need to act as active agents of the culture, not just as ambassadors of an artist 90 minutes were definitely too short for this session, there is so much more to discover. A heartfelt thank-you from us and our students!