The South Korean conductor and pianist Junyoung Kim was engaged as assistant conductor at the Korea National Opera in Seoul, where he assisted the conductors Lothar Koenigs, Yves Abel and Sebastian Lang-Lessing in several opera productions. He was a semi-finalist at the Koussevitzky International Conducting Competition 2023 and conducted a CD recording of works by composer Jean-Pierre Leguay with members of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. He received further inspiration from masterclasses with Neeme Järvi, Peter Eötvös, Cristian Măcelaru, Daniel Oren, Gregory Vajda, Ulrich Windfuhr and Guido Johannes Rumstadt.
He made his debut as a conductor at the age of 21 when he was selected as an »aspiring conductor« in the Korean Conductors Association's conducting masterclass and was assistant conductor of the Korean National Police Orchestra from 2015 to 2017. As a guest conductor, he conducted a concert to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Thailand at the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music in Bangkok in 2018.
After completing his bachelor's degree at Seoul National University in Korea, he completed his master's and concert exam studies at the Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts with Prof Rasmus Baumann, supported by the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. As part of this training, he worked with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, the Filharmonia Śląska, the Danubia Orchestra Óbuda, the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz, the Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Ulm, the Badische Philharmonie Pforzheim, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, the Hamburger Camerata, the Wonju Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra, the Ensemble TIMF (Tongyeong International Music Festival) and the ASEAN Youth Ensemble.