Youn Sun Nah is one of today’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists.
She was born and raised in Seoul in a family passionate about singing: her father was a choirmaster and her mother a musical actress. As a child she studied piano, but instead of pursuing music she focused on her academic studies, graduating in 1992 with a degree in Literature from Konkuk University. The following year she was invited by the Korea Symphony Orchestra to sing gospel songs—her first stage appearance and recording experience. This performance led to roles in musicals, and although a promising theatre career seemed to unfold before her, she was not sure she was on the right path. Eventually she decided to return to school to study music and vocal performance in depth....
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Youn Sun Nah is one of today’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists.
She was born and raised in Seoul in a family passionate about singing: her father was a choirmaster and her mother a musical actress. As a child she studied piano, but instead of pursuing music she focused on her academic studies, graduating in 1992 with a degree in Literature from Konkuk University. The following year she was invited by the Korea Symphony Orchestra to sing gospel songs—her first stage appearance and recording experience. This performance led to roles in musicals, and although a promising theatre career seemed to unfold before her, she was not sure she was on the right path. Eventually she decided to return to school to study music and vocal performance in depth.
A Francophile and a lover of French chanson, she moved to Paris in the autumn of 1995, enrolling at the National Institute of Music in Beauvais, the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory, and the CIM, one of the leading schools for jazz and contemporary music. This was where her artistic breakthrough occurred.
In the early 2000s she began touring and winning prizes at jazz competitions. These successes paved the way for the many later distinctions, including the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture in 2009 and the Sejong Culture Award from the Korean government in 2014.
Her debut album, Reflets, was released in Korea in 2001. With Voyage, released worldwide in 2008, she increasingly established herself as a major figure in vocal jazz.
Her 2010 album Same Girl brought her international recognition. The record received both critical and commercial acclaim in Europe—particularly in France and Germany—as well as in Korea. She went on to perform at the world’s leading jazz festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, which in 2013 invited her to serve as president of the jury for the Voix competition.
In 2017 she released She Moves On, which she presented in Europe, North America, and Korea. That same year she appeared alongside Herbie Hancock, Regina Carter, Esperanza Spalding and others at the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert in Havana. In 2019 she signed with the Arts Music division of Warner Music Group and released her tenth album, Immersion, followed by another international tour. On November 28 she was named Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.
At the end of January 2022 she returned to the stage with a new repertoire, which later formed the basis of the album Waking World. In April she again took part in the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
In 2026 she will release Lost Pieces, a new album composed, written, and arranged entirely by her, which she will present live with a brand-new quartet.
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