For a Korean educator, Sunday is the one true day of rest. And so, I let myself sleep until the sun stood high, almost at its zenith. After a leisurely brunch, I took out my bike and rode along the Han River beneath a sky so bright it stung my eyes, softened only by the intermittent shadows of tall trees falling across the bicycle path.
Returning home, wind-chapped but light, I picked up a book I’d purchased the other day: “Citizens Ultimately Make It Happen” by Lee Jae-myung, the leader of Korea’s progressives and, likely, its next president. As I opened its pages, I played Yunchan Lim’s mesmerizing recording of Chopin’s 12 Études in the background.
I have listened to many great pianists, Evgeny Kissin among them, interpret these pieces. Yet Lim’s performance was unlike anything I’d heard before. His technical command was dazzling, yes, but more than that, each note felt immediate, alive with emotion. It was as if passion bypassed the keys and poured directly into my ear.
Perhaps you’ve heard of him. In 2022, at the tender age of 18, Lim became the youngest-ever winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas, rivaled only by the Chopin Competition in prestige. His performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 was nothing short of miraculous. I had tears in my eyes while watching it on YouTube. He didn’t merely play the piece, it was as if he inhabited it, letting his emotion guide every phrase. It was technically flawless—his precision in even the most treacherous passages breathtaking—but what set him apart was his restraint. While others approached the piece with grand flourishes and thunderous sound, Lim’s interpretation was clear and smooth, nothing forced. Even at the climaxes, he shaped each line with intention. In the quieter moments, time itself seemed to pause.
Other competitors have tackled Rach 3, both in 2022 and in years past, but watching them beside Lim was like comparing Jimin’s haunting dance in Black Swan to me attempting a dance cover Le Sserafim’s “Come Over.” Of course, I’ve never actually done such a cover, but you get my drift…
It’s no wonder critics around the world have called his performances transformative, with many already hailing him as the greatest young pianist of his generation. At this moment, he is the BTS of classical music (his debut album of Chopin’s Études was named Recording of the Year by the BBC), with his concerts selling out in minutes, each ending in thunderous ovations.
This past week had been overwhelming. I finally launched my website and made it public after many nights of effort. But as Lim’s music flowed through me, each note settling like clean snow in the corners of my mind, I felt the week loosen its grip. I could finally exhale. With peace restored, I can now face another week in my ordinary but sometimes eventful life.
I wish you a gentle start to yours as well, my friends. Salute!