Lim Hyung-joo (; born 7 May 1986)

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

is a South Korean

operatic pop Operatic pop, pop-opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic singing style or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The subgenre is often performed by classical crossover singers and acts, ...

and

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...

singer. He has sold more than 1.2 million records worldwide, including over 1 million in South Korea, and his total digital songs, singles and albums (including digital downloads, streaming and ringtone service) sold more than 10 million units.

Life and career

Lim Hyung-joo released his first solo album at the age of 12 in 1998. He made his debut as a

popera Operatic pop, pop-opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic singing style or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The subgenre is often performed by classical crossover singers and acts, ...

singer at the age of 17 years in 2003. On 25 February that year, at the inauguration day of the 16th president of Republic of Korea, he was the youngest person to sing the national anthem of Korea. His performance had been aired abroad. In addition, Lim Hyung-joo had a first solo concert abroad in June 2003, at the New York's

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. He was the youngest Korean male vocalist to give a solo concert in that venue. The performance was very highly received. Lim performed with the world's major venues and orchestras. He gave performances in New York's

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...

at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, and

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Av ...

& Orpheum Theatrein Los Angeles, Main Hall of Knafel Center at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

St John's Smith Square Smith Square Hall (formerly St John's Smith Square) is a concert hall in the centre of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Its name was changed by its current operator, Sinfonia Smith Square, in 2024. Originally a church, this Grade I listed ...

in London and

Wiener Konzerthaus The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

, Paris'

Salle Gaveau The Salle Gaveau, named after the French piano maker Gaveau, is a classical concert hall in Paris, located at 45-47 rue La Boétie, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is particularly intended for chamber music. Construction The plans for t ...

, and The Cathedral of Saint-Louis des

Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old sold ...

and La Madeleine in Paris,

Teatro di Marcello The Theatre of Marcellus (, ) was an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. It is located in the modern rione of Sant'Angelo. In the sixteenth century, it was converted into a palazzo. Construc ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Universal Hall ''Universal Hall'' is the eighth studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2003. It is named after the theatre and performance hall at the Findhorn Foundation, which is pictured on the album cover. The album shows much more influence from folk ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Royal Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw (, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in the world, along with Boston' ...

, Marble Hall of

Mirabell Palace Mirabell Palace () is a historic building in the city of Salzburg, Austria. The palace with its gardens is a listed cultural heritage monument and part of the Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The palac ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, Studio of Radio and television broadcasting in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Suntory Hall The is a concert venue in the central Akasaka district of Tokyo, Japan. Part of the Ark Hills complex, it consists of a main concert hall, widely considered one of the finest in the world for its acoustics – Herbert von Karajan called it “ ...

Tokyo International Forum The is a multi-purpose exhibition center in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The complex is generally considered to be in the Yūrakuchō business district, being adjacent to Yūrakuchō Station, but it is administratively in the Marunouchi district. Toky ...

Main Hall(Hall A), Izumi Hall in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Main Auditorium of China Public Diplomacy & Culture Exchange Center in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, Westin

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

and others. He performed with

Berliner Symphoniker The Berliner Symphoniker (''Berlin Symphony Orchestra'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. History The orchestra began its performing activity on 1 September 1967 as ''Symphonisches Orchester Berlin'', under the auspices of ...

, Berlin Sinfonie Orchester, Wiener Sinfonie Orchester, Czech Symphony Orchestra,

Moscow Symphony Orchestra The Moscow Symphony Orchestra is a non-state-supported Russian symphony orchestra, founded in 1989 by the sisters Ellen and Marina Levine. The musicians include graduates from such institutions as Moscow Conservatory, Moscow, Kiev Conservatory, Ki ...

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2024, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently a ...

New York Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred to colloquially as the Met, the company ...

Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Chamber Orchestra, Salzburger Solisten, Vienna Soloists Ensemble, Vienna Mozart Ensemble Orchestra, American Union Chamber Orchestra,

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in Seoul. Founded in 1945, it is one of the oldest orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia ...

, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Eurasian Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Pops Orchestra, Prime Philharmonic Orchestra and numerous groups in Taiwan and Japan. Furthermore, he is the first Korean artist who conquered all three halls at Carnegie Hall, and the fourth youngest man ever to give a solo concert at the Opera Theater in the

Seoul Arts Center The Seoul Arts Center (SAC; ) is an arts complex in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea. It consists of five main buildings: the Opera House, with three auditoriums; the Music Hall, with two concert halls; the Hangaram Art Museum; the Hangaram D ...

. By the age of 27, he had performed at the TOP 3 classical concert halls of Korea (Concert Hall & Opera Theater of the

, Main Auditorium of the

Sejong Center Sejong Center for the Performing Arts () is the largest arts and cultural complex in Seoul, South Korea. It has an interior area of 53,202m². It is situated in the center of the capital, on Sejongno, a main road that cuts through the capital city ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, Main Hall 'Hae' of the

National Theater of Korea The National Theater of Korea () is a national theatre located in the neighborhood of Jangchung-dong, Jung District, Seoul South Korea. It is the first nationally managed theater in Asia. Affiliation The National Theater of Korea was establis ...

Education

* Shinyongsan Elementary School in

(graduation) * Yewon Arts School in

(graduation 'vocal') *

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

Pre-College in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, vocal judges unanimously passed * Accademia San Felice di Musica in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

(diploma 'operatic voice') *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

Konservatorium in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Invited student ('operatic voice'-Master of Music) * Civica Scuola delle Arti di Roma (

) (graduation 'operatic voice'-Artist Diploma)

Community outreach

Lim was a spokesperson for the

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

Hospital & LG Household & Health Care "beautiful face campaign", the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization "Korea In Motion" campaign, the 2009 Seoul Chungmuro International Film Festival, the Seoul honor Dr. PR committee, the Jung-gu district of Seoul, the Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of Catholic University, and of the 2011 Daegu IAAF World Championships. As of 2014, he is a spokesperson for the Korean

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, the Community Chest of Korea 'Fruit of Love' campaign, the International Relief and Development

World Vision The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

, the Korea Association

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

, the Green Growth National Union, the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Korean National Commission's first goodwill ambassador for peace and arts, the Promotional ambassador for 2015 Gwangju Summer

Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a Blend word, portmanteau of the wor ...

, and He is the Art-one Cultural Foundation founder. Art-one was established by Lim in January 2008 to celebrate the anniversary of his 5th world and 10th domestic debuts. He wanted to help disadvantaged, talented people by donating his proceeds. In December 2010, Lim was awarded the

United Nations Peace Medal The United Nations Peace Medal is a commemorative medal produced by the United Nations to promote peace. First made by Franklin Mint in 1971, a new design is produced annually, with limited editions offered for sale in gold, silver, and bronze. Gol ...

for donating proceeds from a concert commemorating the 60th anniversary of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

to descendants of veterans, becoming the first and youngest Korean to receive the award.

Other activities

Lim was the youngest editor of the magazine ''Weekly Kyunghyang'', and he is an interviewer for the US magazine ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' (Korean Edition). He was the youngest columnist from 2010 to 2015 in '' The Dong-A Ilbo''. In addition, Lim published his first essay, "Only One", with his mother in March 2005, and the book was ranked the top bestseller in Youngpoong bookstore.

Awards

;In 2000 * CBS 1st National Music Competition 1st prize ;In 2001–2002 * The 5th Korean National Youth Music Competition 1st prize * The 12th 'Journal of Music' National Student Music Competition 1st prize * Yewon concert the first vocal soloist (Venue: Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center) * Casual Classic International Scholarship Vocal Music Competition Championships and Scholarship Selection * Yewon arts school top Vocal Practical Skill and Achievement Award ;In 2003 * American USO Association honors contributions Merit Award (the youngest Korean winner) ;In 2004 * US Cotton Club International (CCI) chosen artist and the main model in that year in Asia (Korean first and youngest selected musician) ;In 2005 * Sony BMG headquarters Golden Disk Award * Korea Educational Development Institute survey, selected him along with

Roh Moo Hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

, Lee Kun Hee and

Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo (; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He is a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Prior to his career in po ...

as the most famous Korean people high school students want to see. * Netizen selected him among "30 beautiful people, representing the Republic of Korea, from art and academic sector." * Japan's NHK "

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

" trophy (the first and youngest Korean classical musician) ;In 2007 * Yewon arts school 'Alumni Achievement Award' ;In 2009 * Korea Tourism Organization selected him for "Korea 100 representative figures" ;In 2010 * UN Peace medal '

' ;In 2011 * The first and youngest recipient of 'the Month of Donators' Health and Welfare Minister Award * the youngest ever winner of the Korea Association of Newspapers Star Award ;In 2012 * Interpark investigation netizens selected him for "2012 Best Music / DVD Classic Division 1, 2 and 3 above" ;In 2013 * Interpark investigation netizens selected him for "2013 Best Music / DVD Classic sector" and "Artist of the Year 2013 Classic 1st Division" ;In 2014 * United States House of California Representatives Received citation ;In 2015 * U.S. Presidential Culture Award * 'The 3 Popera tenors in the world' by CNNiReport * BBC Music Magazine Publishes List of 'The TOP 5 most influential popera singers in the world' ;In 2016 * '30 under 30 Asia' by Forbes Asia edition ;In 2017 * Voting member of the Grammys (Recording Academy)

Discography

;Studio albums * The 1st album in January 2003 – Salley Garden * The 2nd album in September 2003 – Silver Rain * The 3rd album March 2004 – Misty Moon * The 4th album in October 2005 – The Lotus * The 5th album in December 2013 – Finally * The 5.5th album in February 2015 – Sarang : Love * The 6th album in November 2016 – The Last Confession * The 7th album in November 2021 – Lost In Time * The 8th album in November 2022 – Lost In Memory * The 9th album in November 2023 – Life On Air ;Other studio albums (Special, Live, EP, Classical etc.) * 1998 – Whispers of Hope * 2005 – Live From Seoul (Live Album) * 2006 – White Dream * 2007 – Eternal Memory * 2009 – My Hero * 2010 – Miracle History * 2011 – Once More * 2012 – Oriental Love * 2013 – Classic Style * 2013 – All My History ;Singles * 2006 – "Acacia" * 2009 – "Crystal Tears" * 2011 – "Beautiful Wish" * 2012 – "Eastern Shadow" * 2014 – "A Thousand Winds" * 2015 – "Always There"(featuring Secret Garden) * 2017 - "Around Thirty" * 2019 - "A New Road" * 2020 - "A Song For You"

References

External links

Lim Hyung-joo's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Hyung-joo 1986 births Living people Singers from Seoul South Korean opera singers 21st-century South Korean male singers South Korean tenors