DAEJIN KIM is one of the most leading pianists and pedagogues in Korea. He won in 1985 the first prize in the prestigious 6th Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition (presently, the Cleveland Competition). In 1986, Mr. Kim made his New York debut and received an exceptionally favorable review from the critic for the New York Times who wrote that "Daejin Kim demonstrated all the accouterments necessary for a successful solo career. Since then, he has performed in recital and with orchestra in major cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.
In 1994, Mr. Kim family moved to Korea and since then he has become a prime example of that rare individual who is able to successfully combine both the demanding careers of a concert artist and the most productive teacher. His master classes have drawn international recognition and at the same time, he has been able to maintain a full schedule of performances such as one-day performance of the complete Beethoven's Piano Concertos and the complete cycle of the Mozart Piano Concertos. His recent discography includes 2 Piano Concertos by Mozart (K.488 & K.453), which he conducted the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard, and 2 Schubert Piano Sonatas (D.664 & 784).
In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded 'the Professor of the Year' Award by the Music Association of Korea and recently, he received "the Artist of the Year" decoration by the Ministry of Culture in Korea, as well as the Grand Prize by the Daewon Cultural Foundation in 2017. He was also two-time recipient of the Professor Award by Kumho Music Foundation, an honor given to the professor who made the most outstanding pedagogical achievements.
Mr. Kim has been on the jury member for the prestigious competitions such as the Busoni, the Gina Bachauer, Clara Haskil, the Beethoven (Vienna and Bonn), the Cleveland, the Takamatsu, the Hamamatsu, the Takamatsu, the Leeds, the Queen Elizabeth and the Rubinstein International Competitions.
His students have won the prizes in the major international competitions including the first prize at the 2005 Clara Haskil, the Leeds (Sunwook Kim), and the Geneva and the Busoni Competition (Chloe Jiyeong Mun).
After a series of close collaboration as a soloist and a conductor for many years with the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the prestigious orchestras in Korea, he was the Music Director from 2008 to 2017 During those years, Mr. Kim and the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra made successful debut concerts at the Carnegie Hall and the Musikverein (Goldener Saal) and the Merano Festival, the Herrenchiemsee Festival and the Bruckner Festival in Linz, and featured the complete cycle of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius Symphony which have been released on the Sony Classical Label. He also appeared frequently as a Guest Conductor for the Ja?a?ek Philharmonic, Slovak Philharmonic, the Buenos Aries Philharmonic Orchestra and many others.
Daejin Kim received a Bachelor's, a Master's, and a Doctoral degree from the Juilliard School where he studied with Martin Canin. He has been the Director of the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts and currently is the Professor of Piano at the Korean National University of Arts.