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Yu Ho-jin wins “Magician of the Year”

April 14, 2014

Presented with the honor at Hollywood Magic Castle on Sunday

Yu ho-jin is fast becoming one of the magicians in the world.

Yu ho-jin is fast becoming one of the magicians in the world.

By Ha Eun-sun

A Korean magician has been selected Magician of the Year by the world magic community.

Yu Ho-jin, 23, surprised the magic world two years ago when he became the first Asian to win the Grand Prix at the “Olympics of Magic” FISM, or Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques, in 2012.

The then-21-year-old received standing ovations after a show of cards, roses and balls.

He was presented with the honor of Magician of the Year at Hollywood Magic Castle Sunday.

“I’m glad to have spread the creativity and excellence of Korean magic to the world,” he said. “I’m learning a lot every day from performing with the best magicians out there and am working toward making magic into a performance of art.”

After seeing a magic show for the first time when he was nine years old, Yu chose magic instead of studying. He’s now one of the world’s best at card magic.

“My goal is to do a new kind of magic show that surprises the world,” he said. “Magic is a dream. You get new dreams and new fantasies while watching magic. That’s the reason I do magic.”

He said that he practiced 13 hours a day while preparing for FISM in 2012 and that an eight-minute show takes five years of preparation.

For Yu, magic is poetry.

“Magic isn’t about writing poetry with words that already exist. It’s about writing poetry with a language you yourself create, and so it takes a long time to prepare,” he said. “When you write with a language that is someone else’s, it’s difficult to make a creative performance.”

In 2010, he won second place at the Busan International Magic Festival. From there, he swept awards in Italy and Japan before he became the first magician to receive the President’s Award in 2011.

He will perform in New Mexico beginning in July as a part of an illusionist show.