The winners of the Isang Yun Competition 2021 in the violin discipline were announced late Saturday after four finalists competed for the prizes at the Tongyeong Concert Hall in South Gyeongsang Province.

The first prize went to Karisa Chiu from the US, who performed J. Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 77. The second and third prizes were awarded to Jeong Ju-eun and Kang Na-kyung from South Korea. Lim Dong-min received the Isang Yun Special Prize. The awardees were announced on the spot after the jury’s evaluation.

The Seong-Yawng Park Special Prize, which is given to a promising young Korean violinist, went to Kang. The UNESCO Creative City of Music Special Prize went to Jeong based on votes from the audience.

The competition was held in a hybrid model, taking place both physically and online. The competition was livestreamed on the YouTube channel of the Tongyeong International Music Foundation, according to the organizer of the competition.

The Isang Yun Competition -- which was inaugurated in 2003 -- is held annually in the coastal city of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, alternating among three disciplines: cello, piano and violin. Next year’s competition will be held for the cello discipline in November.

Registered in the World Federation of International Music Competitions for the first time, the annual music competition has grown into a prestigious event both in Korea and abroad.

A total of 103 violinists from 24 countries applied in July to compete for the awards. The competition kicked off on Oct. 31. The concert of the four winners was held at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Tongyeong Concert Hall and was also streamed live on YouTube.

The jury members consisted of Chairperson Kim Nam-yun along with violinists Shmuel Ashkensasi, Chung Choon-soo, Boris Garlitsky, Lena Neudauer and more. The 2020 competition for the violin discipline was held after a yearlong postponement due to the pandemic.

Kim encouraged participants who did not win a prize after the competition.

“After a competition, not only participants but also the jury members feel empty as much as those who did not win a prize. A concours is concours, it aims to gauge one’s capability, but their music and performance do lie in themselves,” he added.