South Korean candidates dominate in competition with $50,000 first prize

Alexandra tirsu

Finalist Alexandra Tirsu from Romania

The Seoul International Music Competition, which is this year dedicated to the violin, has announced six finalists following the semi-final rounds which took place on 21 and 22 March.

Those in contention for the $50,000 top prize plus paid engagement opportunities, are:

  • June Jeong (South Korea)
  • Donghyun Kim (South Korea)
  • Jeein Kim (South Korea)
  • YooJin Lee (South Korea)
  • Youjin Lee (South Korea)
  • Alexandra Tirsu (Romania)

The competition is held annually, rotating through piano, violin, and voice. The previous violin edition in 2015 did not award a first prize, instead placing Ayana Tsuji and Suliman Tekalli in joint second.

The jury panel for 2018 is: Suzanne Gessner, Ilya Grubert, Kun Hu, Dong Suk Kang, Oleh Krysa, Sung-Ju Lee, Daniel Phillips, Ho Young Pi, Stephan Picard and Takashi Shimizu.