Born in the east coast city of Hamhung ,North Korea, Tong-Il Han faced an arduous journey through war and its aftermath before realizing his dream.  Just one year after he had started to play the family decided to flee to South Korea.  Finally, in June 1954, Tong-Il Han left his homeland for the United States where he received a scholarship to study at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York under the renowned teacher Rosina Lhevinne.  Soon thereafter Tong-Il Han performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City at the age of fifteen. His years at Juilliard were followed by a period of study in London with Ilona Kabos.  In 1965 Tong-Il Han was selected as the first prize winner in the 24th annual International Leventritt Piano Competition by a jury that consisted of Rudolph Serkin, Leon Fleischer, Gary Graffman, Rudolf Firkunsky, George Szell, William Steinberg and, as its chairman, Leonard Bernstein. Since that time he has been a prominent figure among the world's artists.

Tong-Il Han has performed with many of the finest orchestras around the world such as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Scottish National Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Monte Carlo Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Polish Radio National Orchestra, Budapest Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Russian National Symphony, among many others. The conductors with whom he has collaborated include Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Edo de Waart, Raphael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Charles Dutoit, Lukas Foss, Eugene Jochum, Raymond Leppard, Robert Shaw, Stanislaw Skrowaczeski, and David Zinman. The government of Republic of Korea has conferred on him the Order of Moran (Peony), the highest civil service award.
 
Han's many records include Chopin's Twenty-Four Preludes, Four Ballades and Four Scherzos, eight Sonatas by Beethoven (including the last five), Sonatas by Schubert and Brahms, and a group of shorter piano works under the title "Music I Love To Play". He also has recorded Sonatas for Cello and Piano by Brahms, and Schumann's Fantasy Pieces with cellist Leslie Parnas. The CD titled “The Kennedy White House Concert” (the live concert given at the White House) has been released.  In this concert recording Han performed Debussy's "Reflet dans l'eau" and Liszt's "Mephisto Waltz". His latest CD released in June 2004 was recorded in Rome .  This includes major works by Schumann, Beethoven, and Brahms.
 
As Artistic Director of the Tong-Il Han Piano Institute, he has held summer piano festivals in London, Budapest, Boston, Honolulu, Vancouver, Seoul, Pebble Beach, and Hiroshima, among other places. The 15th anniversary festival was held at Kookmin University in Seoul and drew over one hundred twenty pianists.
 
On June 1, 2004 , to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his departure from Korea as a young boy, Han performed the same program that he witnessed at a Lewison Stadium concert given by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra upon arrival in New York City in 1954: Beethoven's "Egmont" Overture, Piano Concerto No. 4, and Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Emperor"). The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Han's childhood friend, Dae-Uck Lee, accompanied the concertos at Seoul Performing Arts Center. The evening's highlight was the participation of his ninety-one year old father, playing timpani for the Beethoven "Emperor" Piano Concerto.
 
Tong-Il Han has taught at Indiana University, Illinois State University, University of North Texas, and Boston University. Presently, he is Professor of Music and Dean of the College of Music at University of Ulsan, Republic of Korea as well as Adjunct Professor at Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan. Tong-Il Han now has extended his musical creativity to Thailand as Artistic Director of the Chiang Mai Music Festival at Ban Wangtan, February 2006.

As both concert artist and teacher Tong-Il Han draws deeply on his Korean roots and Western musical heritage.  For many years his foremost commitment has been to engender the artistic and humanistic development of the next generation of artists, teachers, and audiences in both his native Orient and in the West.  His hope is that music - in its many possible settings and expressions - will be a wellspring contributing towards greater human wisdom, more attuned sensibilities, and more humane aspirations.