[Editorial] K-Content Expands in Breadth and Depth

After failing to secure tickets and trying to calm my frustration, I took out all the albums I own by Yunchan Lim: Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, and Chopin's Etudes. I also watched his performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations at Carnegie Hall in New York last month on YouTube. Yunchan Lim’s playing gives the impression of a perfect balance between the sensibility of a genius and the discipline of a seeker. He never lets that balance falter in either direction.

In April, Yunchan Lim’s Chopin Etudes album swept the top three categories at the UK’s BBC Music Magazine Awards. The BBC Music Awards, along with the UK's Gramophone Awards and France's Diapason d'Or, are considered among the most prestigious honors in classical music. Winning 'Recording of the Year,' 'Newcomer of the Year,' and 'Instrumental Award' simultaneously was unprecedented in the history of the BBC Music Awards. For a newcomer to also take the top honor of 'Recording of the Year' was effectively the judges’ way of declaring surrender to the performer. The Etudes op.10 and op.25 are works that encapsulate all the characteristics of Chopin’s music?fragile as if it might break, and transparent as if it might shine through. In an interview, Yunchan Lim said, “It feels as if I am finally releasing the lava that has been inside me for ten years,” and added, “I strive to harmonize with what my heart desires and what my heart says.” Now, just past twenty years old, whatever he plays, it sounds as if it was not Yunchan Lim who chose the music, but rather the music that chose Yunchan Lim.

Even before the excitement from Yunchan Lim’s achievements had faded, news broke that Myung-Whun Chung had been appointed music director of La Scala in Italy. In the 247-year history of La Scala, Myung-Whun Chung is the first Asian to become music director. He will serve in this role from 2027, when Riccardo Chailly’s term ends, until 2030. Fortunato Ortombina, the general manager of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, who visited Korea for the opening of Busan Concert Hall on the 20th, made his reasons for choosing Myung-Whun Chung clear: “The music director of La Scala must have a profound understanding of a wide range of composers, including Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, and Myung-Whun Chung performs the music of Beethoven and Verdi in a modern way. There was no disagreement in the decision.” He also said, “The decision was unanimous, from the orchestra members to the mayor of Milan,” and praised Myung-Whun Chung as a ‘Verdi specialist.’ Responding to the appointment, Myung-Whun Chung, who will take up the baton as music director at La Scala’s season opening next year, said, “I will probably conduct a lot of Verdi’s works.”

And it’s not just Myung-Whun Chung and Yunchan Lim. Germany’s Opus Klassik named Seong-Jin Cho, who recorded the complete solo piano works of Ravel, as ‘Instrumentalist of the Year.’ Seventeen-year-old pianist Kim Sehyun won first prize at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France in April, also taking home the Audience Award, Press Award, and Special Award.

Until earlier this year, domestic media, lacking any self-initiative, flooded the news with stories declaring that K-content was in crisis. Five years after 'Parasite' swept the Oscars, aside from the 'The Outlaws' series, only 'Exhuma' surpassed ten million viewers in theaters, and they claimed there was no end in sight to the tunnel. The growth of K-pop also seemed to have slowed compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, making it appear as though the Korean Wave was subsiding. It is true that Korean films have struggled at the box office. However, how does the rest of the world view K-content? Last week, The New York Times ran a detailed feature on the Korean cultural boom, covering K-pop, K-dramas, and K-food, and highlighted the musical 'Maybe Happy Ending,' which won six Tony Awards, reporting that Korean culture is now enjoying a golden age on the global stage.

It has been fifty years since Myung-Whun Chung took second place at the Tchaikovsky Competition and was celebrated with a car parade. I cannot recall a time when the music of Korean performers was so widely recognized and popular around the world as it is now. As June draws to a close, the leading force in K-culture this year is classical music.