Im Yunchan's Van Cliburn Victory Final Video Surpasses 1 Million Views... Tops YouTube Rankings

Im Yunchan Final Video Surpasses 1.55 Million Views

Pianist Lim Yunchan is performing at the Van Cliburn Competition. Photo by Van Cliburn Competition/Mok Production provided.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The final round video of pianist Lim Yoon-chan (18, Korea National University of Arts), the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition, has surpassed 1 million views in just two days and ranked first among trending videos on YouTube, showing great popularity.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, the Van Cliburn Foundation's official YouTube channel posted Lim Yoon-chan's final round video, which has accumulated over 1.55 million views.

After reaching 1 million views in two days on the 20th, the video continues to attract sustained interest. Compared to other videos on the foundation's YouTube channel, which garnered only tens of thousands of views, Lim Yoon-chan's popularity is exceptional.

The foundation created a separate playlist compiling Lim Yoon-chan's competition videos. Videos such as Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor performed in the final round (over 750,000 views) and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 from the semifinals (over 350,000 views) are also recording high view counts.

Lim Yoon-chan won first place at the 16th Van Cliburn Competition held on the 18th (local time) in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. The Van Cliburn Competition is a U.S. piano competition with a status comparable to the world's three major music competitions: the Chopin Competition, the Tchaikovsky Competition, and the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

During the final stage held from the 14th to the 18th, Lim Yoon-chan performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop, the chair of the competition jury. Especially in the last performance of the competition, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, he received standing ovations from the audience with a performance described as 'divinely intense.' A scene was also captured where Marin Alsop appeared moved to tears.