Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, honorary members of the jury, participants and guests!

Welcome to the first edition of the Korean Piano Open competition, which will take place on January 5-8, 2021 at the Chugye University for the Arts in the capital of South Korea, Seoul.

I am happy to welcome talented musicians from all over the world to participate in the Korean Piano Open. It is our honor to afford the opportunity to encourage a strong boost to the young artists with a total prize fund of 50,000 Euros.

This event represents one of the preliminary stages of the "Classic Piano" International Piano Competition 2021. The five best pianists of the Korean Piano Open 2020 will be invited to Valletta in 2021 to compete for an astonishing total prize fund of 300,000 Euros. You can find more information on https://14waystodubai2021.com/ 

I present my special gratitude to the European Foundation for the Support of Culture, and personally to its President, Mr. Konstantin ISHKHANOV, for providing financial and organizational assistance.

I wish a wonderful time to the members of the jury and good luck to all the participants. WELCOME TO SEOUL 2021!

Haeyoung KIM,
Artistic director,
Emeritus professor
Chugye University for the Arts

Dear friends!

We are happy to welcome you to our first edition of the Korean Piano Open, which we are organizing in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, a modern city of talented musicians, painters and many other creative mindset people.

This international festival will also comprise of an international piano competition, providing an opportunity and a new effective platform for young pianists, not only to show their technique, skills and professionalism but also their personality and knowledge when interpreting the compositions, which they will be performing.

The Korean Piano Open makes part of the big series of 14 international piano competitions where 5 best participants of each competition will be invited to participate in the “Classic Piano” International Piano Competition 2021 within the framework of the “InClassica” International Music Festival.

The mission of the European Foundation for Support of Culture through the presentation of this Festival is to re-discover, promote, support and document the great masters for keyboard while providing audiences with a unique musical experience; to attract more audiences in the future to help ensure the very existence of classical music.

With so many artistic achievements to its credit, the European Foundation for Support of Culture looks forward towards the continued success of its classical music projects in the future.

I welcome you all to the Korean Piano Open and I wish everyone a very enjoyable time in Seoul! Good luck and success to all participants.

With best regards and respect,  
Mr. Konstantin Ishkhanov,
President of European Foundation for Support of Culture