Daejin Kim is one of the leading pianists and pedagogues in Korea. In 1985, he won the first prize in the prestigious 6th Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition (presently, the Cleveland Competition). In 1986, Kim made his New York debut and received an exceptionally favorable review from 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 orchestras in major cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.
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.
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.
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 Leeds, the Queen Elizabeth and the Rubinstein International Competitions. His students have won prizes in the major international competitions.
He was the Music Director of the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008 to 2017. He also appeared frequently as a Guest Conductor for the Jańaček Philharmonic, Slovak Philharmonic, the Buenos Aries Philharmonic Orchestra and many others. Currently, he is the President of the Korea National University of Arts.