South Korea's classical musicians are rising fast. According to the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC), a global organization of international music competitions, there were 58 winners of international music competitions in 2023. Ten of them were South Koreans. In 2022, 10 out of 70 winners and 9 out of 36 winners in the previous year were South Koreans. This paper explores the background and reasons for the rise of South Koreans in competitions and discusses the future of musicians. The accumulation of educational know-how by Korean educators and the globalization of musicians’ overall skills have enabled South Korean musicians to become winners in world competitions. National support for music education and the media's intense interest in winning competitions have also improved the performance of Korean musicians. But what do these musicians have to show for in their post-competition careers? Are the numerous competition winners able to build a career as artists? Critics have noted the overall atmosphere of a society obsessed with competition results. The stigma of Korean musicians as “competition shoppers” is a recurring topic. However, there is also an equally strong argument that winning competitions is the only way for Korean musicians to make it in the domestic classical music market, which is relatively small. This article explores the current situation of Korean musicians and looks ahead to the future.