Won Kim is recognized as one of the most notable Korean pianists of his generation. He made his debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of twelve and has subsequently appeared with orchestras such as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the Barcelona Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony and the Ukrainian State Symphony, collaborating with such renowned artists as Mikail Pletnev, Yuri Temirkanov and Mark Ermler.
After his recent successful London debut in Wigmore Hall, Won Kim was invited to become a Sony Artist. The release of his first recording with Sony Classical was marked by an extensive concert tour of Korea. Many of his performances have been broadcast in Korea, Europe and North America by DRS Radio, WQXR Radio, Radio Cluj, KBS-TV, MBC-TV and EBS-TV.
Won Kim started learning the piano with his pianist father, but at an early age moved to New York to study at the Juilliard School. He continued his studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg with Hans Leygraf and Christoph Lieske and at the Hanover University of Music and Drama with Arie Vardi. Won Kim has recently joined the Faculty of Ewha Women’s University and serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at the College of Music.
Winner of top prizes in several music competitions, Won Kim has won first prize at the Maria Canals International Music Competition, third prize at the William Kapell International Piano Competition, the special prize for the best performance of 20th century music at the Tchaikovsky International Music Competition, third prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition and first prize at the St. Charles International Piano Competition. He has also been the recipient of the Bösendorfer Scholarship, the Gina Bachauer Memorial Scholarship, the Chopin Society Scholarship and in 1999 he was chosen as one of the young artists for the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival.