In some senses, Dr. You-Seong Kim envies music students who get to study at North Park. “Chicago is a perfect place to experience a myriad of musical performances ranging from world-class opera to small performance organizations,” she says. “When I was a student, I used to drive hundreds of miles with my friends to watch a concert at Lyric Opera or the Ravinia Festival.”

Kim has extensive, global performance experience. As a soprano, she has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, and her native Korea with Florentine Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Bloomington Early Music Festival, Korean National Opera Studio, University of Cincinnati Opera, Indiana University Opera Theatre, WDR-Rundfunkorchester Köln, and Kentucky Symphony.

Before coming to North Park in 2015, Kim spent eight years as full-time voice faculty at Ohio University, and she was a guest artist and clinician at American and Korean universities. In addition to teaching, Kim serves as head of North Park’s voice department and director of the master of music in vocal performance program.