Youn was born in
Seoul, South Korea. Samuel Youn studied voice in Seoul, in
Milan, and at the
Cologne University of Music under Arthur Janzen. He has been a member of the
Cologne Opera since the 1999/2000 season. At Cologne he has sung among other roles Kaspar in
Der Freischütz, Jochanaan in
Richard Strauss'
Salome, Escamillo in
Bizet's
Carmen, and the
Wagnerian roles of Donner and Gunther in
Der Ring des Nibelungen, Kurwenal in
Tristan und Isolde and the Dutchman in
Der fliegende Holländer; he has also made many guest appearances in various countries, including as the Wanderer/Wotan in Wagner's
Siegfried, his début in the role, in
Lisbon, and Mephisto in
Gounod's
Faust in
Treviso and
Rovigo, his first appearances in Italy. He has also sung in concert in
Brahms'
German Requiem,
Mahler's
Symphony No. 8, and
Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony among other works. In November 2012 Youn was appointed a Musical Ambassador of Singende Krankenhäuser e.V. (Singing Hospitals). In 2016 Youn sang Scarpia in
Puccini's
Tosca at the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and also performed for the first time in the US, as
Alberich in Wagner's
Das Rheingold with the
Lyric Opera of Chicago, his first performance in the role. ==Honours==