Hwayoung Shon

About the Artist

Hwayoung Shon, a native of South Korea now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is an award-winning gayageum master and composer dedicated to exploring Korea’s rich cultural heritage and sharing it with audiences worldwide. After winning Korea’s national gugak competitions leading to her public debut on Korea Broadcasting System in 1986, Shon has devoted herself to mastering the intricacies of the gayageum. Over the years, she has won numerous prestigious competitions and received accolades in performance from Seoul National University. She has since collaborated extensively with K-pop stars, jazz musicians, world musicians, classical ensembles, and orchestras. Her mesmerizing performances have captivated audiences in prestigious concert halls worldwide, including the Herbst Theatre, Seoul Arts Center, and KBS Hall, as well as through collaborations with Korea’s classical symphonies, gugak symphonies, Santa Cruz Symphony and more. Her performances have been broadcasted on KBS, MBC, EBS, BBC, WGVU-FM, KAZU-FM, CKRL and others. Her recent albums drew inspiration from Korea’s cultural heritage. Through her music, Shon aims to spread beauty of gayageum sound worldwide by sharing diverse perspectives and fostering cultural connections.