Hwayoung Shon

Gayageum Performer and Composer (Palo Alto, CA)

Hwayoung Shon is a gayageum performer and composer who brings Korean tradition into dialogue with contemporary music on stages across Asia, Europe, and the United States. A graduate of Seoul National University, she made her debut on KBS in 1986 and went on to win numerous national Korean traditional music competitions.

Shon has performed with the Santa Cruz Symphony and Marin Symphony, and collaborated with artists across genres. She has also appeared as a soloist at the Korea Commemorative Concert at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre. At Stanford Live's Harps of Asia, she appeared at Bing Concert Hall alongside zither masters from Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam. Her work includes an improvisational duo with Jung Won-yeong of Four Seasons, broadcast on KBS as the first gayageum–K-pop collaboration on Korean public broadcasting.

As a composer, Shon draws on Korean folklore, history, and spirituality. Her performances have reached international audiences through broadcasts on the BBC, RTVE, KBS, and other networks around the world. (Instagram: @hwayoung.shon)