Twenty-year-old South Korean violinist Ji Young Lim has won Belgium's prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition.

Ji's interpretation of Brahms's violin concerto in D major landed her the top prize of 25,000 euros ($27,470) and a four-year loan of a 1708 Stradivarius from the Nippon Music Foundation, the jury announced around midnight Saturday.

Oleksii Semenenko of Ukraine and William Hagen of the United States came second and third respectively.

Seoul-born Ji Young Lim, who trained in her homeland, is the second Korean in as many years to win the competition, which alternates annually between violin, piano and singing.

Soprano Sumi Hwang won the 2014 edition of the contest, which has been running since 1937.

Next year's competition will be reserved for pianists, with the cello set to make its debut the in 2017.

The winner receives invitations to perform around the world.
Source: AFP