Korean violin prodigy dies of heart attack in taxi

Korean violinist Kwun Hyuk-joo / Korea Times file

By Hong Dam-young

Famous Korean violinist Kwun Hyuk-joo died of a heart attack in a taxi early Wednesday, on his way to a Busan hotel just hours before a recital.

Kwun, 31, became unconscious in the back of the taxi at 12:10 a.m. He was returning to the hotel in Haeundae after drinking with friends in the city’s Nam-gu district, according to Yonhap news agency.

The taxi driver thought Kwun was asleep. But he called 119 when he arrived at the hotel 12:30 a.m. and found Kwun was not breathing.

Kwun was taken to a nearby hospital but died.

Kwun arrived in Busan from Seoul on Tuesday to play with Korea’s UM Chamber Orchestra at the Busan Cultural Center on Wednesday night. The performance was postponed indefinitely because of his death.

An autopsy revealed Kwon died of sudden cardiac arrest.

Police found in Kwun’s violin case what appeared to be drugs for arrhythmia. But the investigation has concluded the drugs are not linked to his death.

“He had symptoms of arrhythmia but I assume his health has deteriorated recently due to fatigue from a heavy schedule,” a friend said.

Kwun, who started playing the violin at the age of three and studied in Moscow, was the first Korean to win the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, in 2004 in Denmark.