Young Chang – from small workshop to global leader in piano production

The history of this Korean brand dates back to 1956, when the company was founded by the Kims brothers to distribute Yamaha upright and grand pianos in Asia. After a few years, in 1964, Young Chang pianos were produced in two factories in South Korea and China. A few years later, carpentry technology started being appreciated in Europe - the company won a gold medal at the Worldskills in Switzerland and then a silver medal in Munich. Young Chang has also produced large scale woodworking machines. In the 1970s, thousands of pianos were exported to Japan. An important event was the construction of a full-size concert piano (275 cm) in 1983 - the first Korean instrument of this size. A year later an American branch was established in Los Angeles, two years later also in Canada. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Young Chang branch became part of Europe. The Young Chang brand has been awarded many times in Europe and Japan not only for its carpentry techniques, but also for the quality of its instruments. That’s when Young Chang was among the top five leaders of the world’s piano industry. Young Chang was expanded by the Kurzweil brand, a producer of digital pianos, among others. At the same time, the development of the company resulted in a new branch in Washington, D.C., which was responsible for the acquisition and processing of spruce and maple wood, which was later transferred to the production of instruments in Asia. Another huge factory was opened in China, due to the cheaper than Korean production capacity.   

An extremely important person who started working with Young in 1995 was Joseph Pramberger. He influenced numerous innovations in the construction of Young Chang pianos. He was previously associated for many years with the American Steinway & Sons manufacture, and thus had the experience and skills that changed Young Chang pianos. This is how the Pramberger Platinum lineup of pianos was created, presented in the first years of the 21st century. These were instruments of the highest quality, but produced only for a few years (Pramberger died in 2003, which resulted in the sale of the brand to the Samick factory). However, the patents introduced by Pramberger are reserved for Young Chang. As early as 1995, the company began to fall into debt, which ultimately led to the purchase of about half of the shares by Samick in 2004. This action was opposed by the Korean Fair Trade Commission because it would have meant a monopoly of production in Korea for Samick. Unfortunately, Young Chang went bankrupt and was bought out in 2006 by Hyundai Development Company, the new name of HDC Young Chang. It is worth mentioning that since 2008, the innovations in Young Chang have been supervised by an extremely experienced designer Delwin Fandrich. In cooperation with this professional, the entire Young Chang brand line has been changed. Over the years, Young Chang has produced instruments of the Essex, Ibach, Knabe, Pramberger, Weber and Wurlitzer brands. Currently (2020) there are three lines of Weber, Albert Weber and Young Chang.

Young Chang upright piano models

Y series: Y114, Y116, Y118, Y121 and Y131

How much does a Young Chang piano cost?

As the brand’s history and model diversity shows, prices will vary. Young Chang pianos are produced in China, as is the Weber brand (mid-price class). The more expensive ones include the higher class of Albert Weber upright and grand pianos (produced in Korea). You can check the prices of new Young Chang instruments on the dedicated website or compare offers in the Klaviano search engine. Here you can find offers of new and used Young Chang pianos in your area.

Perhaps you have a Young Chang upright piano and wonder when it was produced?

We will find the answer by checking the serial number, as usual: 

• 1978 - 7800000
• 1980 - 8000000
• 1985 - 0147000
• 1990 - 1537386
• 1995 - 2113092
• 2000 - 2429876
• 2003 - 2559247