Cellist Kim Tae-yeon performs during the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition on May 16 in Brussels. (Queen Elisabeth Competition) Korean cellist Kim Tae-yeon won second prize in the cello division of the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition, which concluded Saturday in Brussels, according to the Kumho Cultural Foundation on Sunday.Kim will receive a cash prize of 20,000 euros ($23,300).First prize was awarded to Ettore Pagano of Italy, while Leland Ko of the US and Canada took third place. The 2026 competition, dedicated to the cello, was open to cellists ages 18 to 30. Out of 185 applicants worldwide, 64 advanced from video screening to the live rounds, including five Koreans. Twelve finalists were selected after the first round and semifinals, held from May 4.The finals took place May 25-30 at the Salle Henry Le Boeuf, where finalists performed with the Belgian National Orchestra, conducted by Antony Hermus. In her final performance, Kim played the commissioned work "Four Odes to the Tidings of Flowers" by Fang Man and Lutoslawski's Cello Concerto.Born into a family of musicians in 2006, Kim made her recital debut at age 12 at the Kumho Arts Center in Seoul in November 2020. Since 2022, she has studied at the Curtis Institute of Music under Gary Hoffman and Peter Wiley, supported by the Jacqueline du Pré Memorial Fellowship.Kim has won numerous international awards, including first prize at the 2024 Lutoslawski Competition in Poland, where she was the youngest and first Korean winner, and the Franz Helmerson Prize at the Kronberg Academy Cello Festival. She has appeared as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as the Warsaw Philharmonic and the St. Petersburg City Orchestra.The competition was established in 1937 as the "Ysaye Competition," initially focusing on the violin. After a hiatus during World War II, it was renamed the "Queen Elisabeth Competition" in 1951 under the patronage of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. Other disciplines were added over the years: composition (1953), voice (1988) and cello (2017). The competition now rotates annually among violin, piano, voice and cello.Kim joins a list of Korean laureates. Notably, cellist Choi Ha-young became the first South Korean to win first prize in the cello division in 2022. Other first-prize winners include composers Cho Eun-hwa (2008) and Jeon Min-je (2009), vocalists Hong Hae-ran (2011) and Hwang Sumi (2014), violinist Lim Ji-young (2015) and baritone Kim Tae-han (2023).