In 2011, he began learning piano, and that year passed the entrance exam for the Seoul Arts Center’s music academy for gifted children. From 2012, he attended the academy and studied for about seven years with the pianist Kim Kyung-eun. The year he turned 11, he made his debut at the Kumho Young Artist Concert.
In 2017, he entered the gifted students program at the Korea National University of Arts and began studying with Minsoo Sohn. In 2018, he won second prize and the Chopin Prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. In 2019, he became the youngest first-prize winner of the Isang Yun International Music Competition, with three awards in all. The win made him eligible for enrollment as arts personnel.
In 2020, he graduated from Yewon School. In 2021, he entered the Korea National University of Arts. He had not studied abroad up to then.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 18, he won the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, the youngest winner in its 60-year history. He took three awards, including the Audience Award and the prize for best performance of a new work, and in November a live album with the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra sold more than 10,000 copies.
In 2023, he made his first concerto appearance with the New York Philharmonic, moved to the New England Conservatory in Boston following Minsoo Sohn, and signed an exclusive contract with Decca. In 2024, he gave his debut recital at Carnegie Hall and released his Decca debut album, Chopin: Études. That autumn the album won two Gramophone awards.
In 2025, he won three BBC Music Magazine Awards and played Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Carnegie Hall. He released two more albums that year.
In 2026, he won a German Opus Klassik award for Bach: Goldberg Variations and was named a winner of the Inchon Prize in media and culture.
Yunchan Lim (born Mar 20, 2004) debuted at the Kumho Young Artist Concert in 2015, the year he turned 11, and became known when he won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition as its youngest winner on Jun 18, 2022, the year he turned 18. In 2024, the year he turned 20, he won two Gramophone Classical Music Awards.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Began learning piano at age seven. That year he passed the entrance exam for the Seoul Arts Center’s music academy for gifted children.
Source 01 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Youngest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Interview with his first teacher Kim Kyung-eun · opens in a new tab The month and day were not confirmed.Attended the academy from second grade of elementary school. He studied for about seven years with his first teacher, the pianist Kim Kyung-eun.
Source 02 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Interview with his first teacher Kim Kyung-eun · opens in a new tabMade his debut at the Kumho Young Artist Concert, a stage for musically gifted children aged 14 and under.
Source 03 · Edaily (Korean) · The Kumho Young Artists who captivated the classical world · opens in a new tabSource 04 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Inchon Prize, media and culture category · opens in a new tab The month and day were not confirmed.Entered the gifted students program at the Korea National University of Arts and began studying with Minsoo Sohn. The relationship later led to his studies abroad.
Source 06 · Edaily (Korean) · KBS Symphony Orchestra 70th anniversary special concert · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Newsis (Korean) · Following Minsoo Sohn to the New England Conservatory · opens in a new tabSource 23 · Korean Wikipedia · Lim Yun-chan · opens in a new tab The articles say he entered at 13. The year 2017 and the start of his study with Sohn are from Wikipedia and were not confirmed in news reports.Won second prize and the Chopin Prize.
Source 01 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Youngest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition · opens in a new tab The month and day were not confirmed.Won first prize at the competition in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, as its youngest winner. He also took the UNESCO City of Music special prize and the Park Sung-yong special prize for gifted young musicians, for three awards in all. The competition is one of the 28 international music competitions recognized under the Military Service Act, so first prize made him eligible for enrollment as arts personnel.
Source 07 · Yonhap News (Korean) · Triple win at the Isang Yun International Music Competition at 15 · opens in a new tabSource 08 · Yonhap News (Korean) · Already eligible for military service benefit three years ago · opens in a new tab The date is the day the competition closed. His eligibility as arts personnel was confirmed in a 2022 article. He said it was his first competition for adults.Finished Yewon School, which covers middle school.
Source 01 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Youngest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition · opens in a new tab The month and day were not confirmed.Entered K-ARTS and continued to study with Minsoo Sohn. He had not studied abroad up to then.
Source 01 · Chosun Ilbo (Korean) · Youngest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition · opens in a new tab The month and day were not confirmed.Won first prize at the competition in Fort Worth, Texas. He was the youngest winner in the competition’s 60-year history, and also took the Audience Award and the prize for best performance of a new work, for three awards in all. In the finals he played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.
Released on Deutsche Grammophon with the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra (conductor Hong Seok-won). It includes Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, played at the Tongyeong International Music Hall on Oct. 8, and sold more than 10,000 copies on release.
Source 09 · KBS (Korean) · Live album goes platinum on release · opens in a new tabSource 10 · News1 (Korean) · Release of the album Beethoven, Isang Yun, Barber · opens in a new tabFollowed Minsoo Sohn to the New England Conservatory in Boston. Sohn joined the conservatory’s piano faculty the same year.
Source 05 · Newsis (Korean) · Following Minsoo Sohn to the New England Conservatory · opens in a new tabSource 06 · Edaily (Korean) · KBS Symphony Orchestra 70th anniversary special concert · opens in a new tabSource 23 · Korean Wikipedia · Lim Yun-chan · opens in a new tab Newsis reported the transfer as planned for fall 2023, and Wikipedia also gives the fall 2023 semester. The month and day were not confirmed, so only the year is given.Played Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at David Geffen Hall in New York through the 12th, conducted by James Gaffigan.
Source 05 · Newsis (Korean) · Following Minsoo Sohn to the New England Conservatory · opens in a new tab The article was published ahead of the concerts.Signed with Decca, a classical label founded in Britain in 1929. It released recordings by Georg Solti, Luciano Pavarotti and Chung Kyung-wha.
Source 11 · Yonhap News (Korean) · Exclusive contract with Decca · opens in a new tabBuilt the program entirely from Chopin études.
Source 13 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Carnegie Hall debut recital, NYT best performance of the year · opens in a new tabSource 12 · NoCut News (Korean) · Decca debut album due April 19 · opens in a new tab The date is local time.His first studio album, with 24 of Chopin’s 27 études.
Source 12 · NoCut News (Korean) · Decca debut album due April 19 · opens in a new tabSource 15 · Hankyoreh (Korean) · Three BBC Music Magazine Awards · opens in a new tabAt the ceremony in London, received the Piano category award and the special award Young Artist of the Year for Chopin: Études. He was the first Korean pianist to win the award.
Source 14 · News1 (Korean) · Two Gramophone awards · opens in a new tab The date is local time.His February Carnegie Hall debut recital made the list. The critic Zachary Woolfe had named his Van Cliburn Competition performance the performance of the year in 2022, and the live album of the competition the classical recording of the year in 2023.
Source 13 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Carnegie Hall debut recital, NYT best performance of the year · opens in a new tab The date is the local date of the feature article.At the ceremony in London, received Recording of the Year, the Instrumental Award and the Newcomer Award for Chopin: Études. It was the first time one album took three categories since the awards began in 2006.
Source 15 · Hankyoreh (Korean) · Three BBC Music Magazine Awards · opens in a new tab The date is local time.Played Bach’s Goldberg Variations in Isaac Stern Auditorium. The hall was sold out, and the live recording became an album the next year.
Source 22 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Invited to Carnegie Hall two years in a row · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Financial News (Korean) · Goldberg Variations live album · opens in a new tabSource 21 · Yonhap News (Korean) · Gramophone finalist · opens in a new tab The date is local time.His second Decca album, from the live finals performance at the 2022 Van Cliburn Competition. It sold more than 5,000 copies on release and went gold.
Source 16 · Newsis (Korean) · Van Cliburn live album goes gold · opens in a new tabSource 15 · Hankyoreh (Korean) · Three BBC Music Magazine Awards · opens in a new tabHis third album on Decca. It was recorded at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, England.
Source 17 · Newsis (Korean) · New album Tchaikovsky: The Seasons · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Financial News (Korean) · Goldberg Variations live album · opens in a new tab The release date is from the article announcing the release.His fourth Decca album, from the live performance at Carnegie Hall on Apr. 25, 2025. It sold more than 5,000 copies on release and went gold.
Source 19 · Munhwa Ilbo (Korean) · Goldberg Variations album goes gold · opens in a new tabSource 18 · Financial News (Korean) · Goldberg Variations live album · opens in a new tabThe German classical music association chose him for Bach: Goldberg Variations. At this ceremony, with about 680 entries, he is the youngest winner of a major individual category.
Source 20 · News1 (Korean) · Opus Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year · opens in a new tab The date is local time.At Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, played Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos No. 10 with his teacher Minsoo Sohn. Masato Suzuki conducted.
Source 06 · Edaily (Korean) · KBS Symphony Orchestra 70th anniversary special concert · opens in a new tabBach: Goldberg Variations became a finalist. It is two years after his two awards in 2024.
Source 21 · Yonhap News (Korean) · Gramophone finalist · opens in a new tab The date is the day his agency, Mok Productions, announced it.He said that receiving the prize makes him feel a great sense of responsibility toward music.
Source 04 · Dong-A Ilbo (Korean) · Inchon Prize, media and culture category · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2011–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Music · South Korea
Mar 20, 2004 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 2004: the year of the event minus 2004, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.22 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.