Recent views in the field of cognitive science highlight the sociocultural influence on human development. In order to explore the meaning of talent in the visual arts perceived in the contemporary Korean sociocultural context, this paper first examines the perceptions of artistic talent of secondary art teachers and art professionals who support the practice of artists in diverse art institutions. Then it compares the perceptions of educators to those of art professionals. This is followed by a discussion of the educational implications. The result of the perception comparison between art teachers and art professionals reveals that the biggest difference is in the scope of what characterizes artistic talent. Whereas art teachers tend to perceive artistic talent as being limited to the personal ability to develop one’s visual expression, art professionals consider it as the social ability to find one’s own way to establish a personally significant position in the art world. This implies that there are different sociocultural influences in the domains of education and art. The limited perception of art teachers implies that the current education system cannot effectively support the artistic talent that students are developing through a wide range of intellectual explorations in diverse social contexts. This paper’s exploration of the meaning of talent in the visual arts perceived in the Korean sociocultural context today constitutes a meaningful effort to extend educators’ views on talent in the visual arts.