ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hyung Joon Won

Hyung Joon Won is a South Korean violinist widely recognized for his musicianship and  national activism. A child prodigy, Won gave his first solo performance with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at age 10. Before enrolling at Juilliard, he won numerous competitions such as the Kingsville International and  New York Philharmonic Festival. Won has worked with a number of world-renown orchestras as a soloist, including the Hong Kong Pan Asia Philharmonic, Massapequa Philharmonic and the Marrowstone Festival Orchestra. In 1990, Won proudly represented South Korea when he performed at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland. The forum, which celebrated the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany, inspired Won to think of music as a medium of reconciliation. In 1996, he performed at the UN General Assembly Hall under the theme World Peace. Such performances strengthened his resolve to leverage his musical career for the reunification of North and South Korea.