Hwajong Kim

About the musician

Hwajong Kim builds a musical world through the overlapping voices of a single guitar. A clear, singing melody remains at the centre, supported by bass lines, harmony and the rhythmic energy of fingerstyle playing. In his artist biography, he describes writing from personal experience and imagination, giving each piece its own story and musical identity.

His career connects fingerstyle stages in South Korea, Japan and the United States. Second-place competition results in Korea and the US in 2019 were followed by an Excellence Award and Audience Award at Morris FingerPicking Day in 2023. In 2025, he took first place at both the Indiana State Fingerstyle Festival and the Walnut Valley International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship. Original releases and solo concerts developed alongside these competition appearances.

The biography supplied to Kepma also records a demonstration-artist appearance at the 2020 NAMM Show, the solo concert Night Record in 2022, a full-length album and solo concert in 2023, and admission to Berklee College of Music in 2024. Together, these milestones connect performance, ongoing composition and musical study.

Musical language and composition

One way into this music is to follow melody, texture and story. The melody gives the ear a theme to hold onto; the bass and harmony create depth; changes in rhythm and volume provide the transitions between sections. Fingerstyle technique supports the shape and expression of a complete piece.

Mystery Story presents a collection of original pieces with different settings and emotions, while Delete develops a focus on memory and forgetting. Titles offer a starting point without fixing a single interpretation. Listen through a piece first, then return to a favourite passage to follow the arrival, transformation and return of its theme.

His official channel includes original compositions, arrangements and concert performances. Comparing recordings, music videos and live versions provides a way to hear changes in tone, musical breathing and the relationship between solo and ensemble settings. For guitar students, these versions also show how a piece can move from composition to the stage.

Career and milestones

2019

Second place at the Fingerstyle Collective Guitar Festival, USA, and the 10th Cortek Acoustic Guitar Competition, South Korea.

2020

Demonstration artist for Mayson Guitars and Elite Acoustics at the NAMM Show in the Los Angeles area, USA.

2022

Planned and performed the solo concert Night Record.

2023

Second place / Excellence Award and Audience Award at Morris FingerPicking Day, Japan. The organiser lists Yesterday and Night as his competition pieces. Released the full-length album Mystery Story and planned and performed a solo concert.

2024

Released the EP Delete and was admitted to Berklee College of Music, USA.

2025

First place at the Indiana State Fingerstyle Festival and the Walnut Valley International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, USA; main-stage performance in the Walnut Valley winners’ showcase.

2026

Invited artist at the Woodstock Fingerstyle Guitar Festival, USA, and The K Mark Concert in Shanghai, China. Woodstock lists him as a special guest for its August 30 Winners Circle Showcase.

Albums and repertoire

The full-length album, EPs and earlier singles offer several entry points into Kim’s original music. Release years follow the supplied artist biography; follow the music-service links for dates, track listings and available editions.

A listening guide

For a first listen

Begin with Mystery Circus, Night Restaurant and Last Masquerade, then play Mystery Story from beginning to end. First follow the melody and overall mood. On a second listen, notice how the bass directs the harmony and how changes in volume shape the sections.

Compare different versions

Mystery Circus appears in an early performance video and in a solo-concert recording; Night Restaurant has a music video and an outdoor performance. Comparing the same piece across settings makes changes in arrangement, tone and live interpretation easier to hear.

Continue with Delete

Listen in the order Rewind, Do you remember me?, Dimension Explosion and Waiting for a gift, then watch the corresponding videos. Follow repetition, pauses, pace and dynamics as listening cues. These are suggestions for exploring the music; use the artist’s own notes for specific intentions.

For fingerstyle students

Focus on one voice at a time: the upper melody, then the bass, then accompaniment and rhythm. If you would like to learn an original piece, visit the artist’s sheet-music shop for authorised scores and compare them with the performance version.

Selected performances and music videos

Explore original music, the four Delete music videos and live performances on YouTube. Select a cover to load the player, or open the original platform. Some performances differ from the released album versions.

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Portraits and stage photographs

Photographs supplied by the artist document portraits, solo performances and US competitions in 2025.

Portraits

In concert

Competitions and awards

Further composition and interviews

In February 2026, Korea.net featured the Arirang TV interview Carving His Own Path in Fingerstyle Guitar. Kim’s own channel also presents Night for the Tiny Desk Contest and the film-scoring submission A Grade Students. The latter is labelled IFMC Summer 2026 first place on his channel, with a matching name in the contest’s published results.

Arirang TV / Korea.net artist interview ↗ · Film-scoring contest results ↗

Official channels and music

Follow the artist’s own releases, concert updates and sheet music. These links were supplied with his profile; Bilibili, YouTube and Instagram were also checked against public pages.

• Bilibili ↗
• YouTube ↗
• Instagram ↗
• Facebook ↗
• TikTok ↗
• Spotify ↗
• Official sheet-music shop ↗

Walnut Valley champion radio interview

Listen to the champion interview published on the festival organiser’s website.

Sources

The core biography and photographs were supplied in the artist profile. Additional information comes from event organisers, music services and the artist’s public channels. Reviewed in October 2026; follow official channels for new releases and concert updates.

• Artist-supplied material: Hwajong Kim Kepma profile, biography and 14 photographs
• Walnut Valley 2025 champion profile and performances ↗
• Morris FingerPicking Day 2023 official event report ↗
• Woodstock 2026 special-guest listing ↗
• Mystery Story album listing ↗
• Delete EP track listing ↗
• Night Restaurant single listing ↗
• The artist’s sheet-music shop ↗
• Arirang TV / Korea.net artist interview ↗