In June 2022 Yunchan Lim became the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, at the age of 18. He also won the audience award and the award for best performance of a new work.
Born in Siheung, Korea, Lim began piano lessons at the age of seven, and at the age of eight entered the Music Academy of the Seoul Arts Centre. He auditioned for and was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts at the age of thirteen, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. A year later, in 2018, he won second prize and the Chopin Special Award in his first ever competition, the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists.
Also that year, he stood out as the youngest participant in the Cooper International Competition, where he won both third prize and the audience prize, and was provided the opportunity to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2019, at the age of 15, he was the youngest.