Meet the YouTube guitar star

Seoul: South Korean student Lim Jeong-hyun has basked in five minutes and 20 seconds of fame nearly nine million times over.

Twenty-two-year-old Lim was identified by the New York Times about two weeks ago as the mysterious man bathed in sunlight who played guitar in one of the most-watched videos of all time on the popular video sharing YouTube.com website.

About eight months ago, a video simply titled "guitar" appeared on YouTube.

It shows a young man sitting between his desk and bed, bowing his head so that his baseball cap covers his eyes, ferociously playing a rock version of Johann Pachelbel's Canon - the music often played at weddings.

The guitarist's face is never seen. His real name is not mentioned but he calls himself “funtwo”.

The focus is on his fingers. The austerity of the clip and the new interpretation of a well-known piece of music has fascinated millions.

After the article, the shy Lim woke up one day in late August and found himself famous.

Local media picked up what the New York Times had reported and Lim's tale was told by major South Korean newspapers and television networks.

"I was so embarrassed because I had too many phone calls and too many visitors all of the sudden," Lim told Reuters Television at a music studio in Seoul.

Many of the people who posted comments on YouTube wanted to know the guitarist's identity.

Many complimented his playing, while some questioned if he was aided by electronics. A few said he was a fraud.

The clip has become YouTube's second-most discussed video after one of people lip syncing a video game theme song.

"I love this guy. Funtwo is awesome. By the way, what's his real name?" one person wrote.

With short hair, dyed dark brown, glasses and a T-shirt, Lim hardly looks the part of a guitar hero - and he does not consider himself one either.

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"I became famous not because my playing technique was great, but because the Pachelbel's Canon arranged by JerryC was a very popular piece," Lim said.

The arrangement Lim played was composed by Jerry Chang, a guitarist from Taiwan, the New York Times said.

Others have tried to claim they were the guitarist in the video or had a part in the composition, but there is no doubt that Lim can play the piece masterfully.

Lim first picked up a guitar when he was a third-year student in middle school.

He took acoustic and electric guitar lessons for about a month on each instrument and is mostly self-taught.

Lim said he practised for three weeks before recording the video, and he was not all that satisfied with his performance.

"If I gave a grade to my playing, it should be 50 or 60 out of 100," he said.

Lim said his immediate plans are to head back to New Zealand where he is studying Information Technology at the University of Auckland.

"I have no intention to be a professional musician as of now. I just enjoy playing the guitar," he said.