KT&G Scholarship Foundation Supporting Lim Yunchan Now Invests 130 Million Won in Nurturing Ballet Talents

Collaboration to Operate Dance Education Program 'Ballet Master Class'
Professional Coaching and Performance Support by Active Ballet Company

KT&G Scholarship Foundation announced on the 16th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the ‘KT&G Scholarship Foundation Culture and Arts Scholarship Project’ with the Korea Mecenat Association, Ballet STP Cooperative, and Gangdong Cultural Foundation to discover and nurture outstanding talents in the field of ballet.

Through this agreement, each organization will collaborate to operate the ‘Ballet Master Class,’ which provides ballet talents with professional coaching and performance opportunities from active ballet company dancers and choreographers. KT&G Scholarship Foundation will fully support the program operation costs with 130 million KRW, while the Korea Mecenat Association and Ballet STP Cooperative will manage the program operations, and the Gangdong Cultural Foundation will provide rehearsal and performance spaces.

Since 2016, KT&G Scholarship Foundation has been running scholarship programs in the culture and arts sector. The foundation has provided scholarships of approximately 5 million KRW per person annually to students in fields such as ballet and music. Up to last year, the total amount of scholarships and educational program support given to 236 recipients reached over 1.4 billion KRW. This year, it plans to support about 40 scholarship students with a total of over 200 million KRW.

Among the scholarship recipients supported by KT&G Scholarship Foundation are pianist Lim Yunchan, who became the youngest-ever winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and Jeon Jiyul, who was finally accepted to the Royal Ballet School in Monaco and is currently studying abroad. KT&G Scholarship Foundation was recognized for its contribution to nurturing artistic talents and received the Cultural Contribution Award at the 2021 Korea Mecenat Awards.

An Hongpil, Secretary General of KT&G Scholarship Foundation, stated, “Beyond discovering and supporting the growth of talents who will lead the future, we will continue to show unwavering interest and support so that scholarship students can enter society and exert a positive influence.”