Nackkum Paik was born  and educated in Seoul, South Korea where she received a BA in Composition and a Master degree from Yonsei University. Before immigrating to the United States, Paik also earned four diplomas in Composition, Harmonics, Musical Analysis and Musical Form at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, Belgium.

Since1984, she has been a distinguished composer and lecturer in Seoul at Yonsei, Mokwon, and Kyungwon Universities as well as Choo-gye Art College.

She has received numerous awards, including First Prize at the Golden Gate International Youth and Children’s Choral Festival, selections for  the Asian Music Festival in Korea and Japan and ARS MUSICA Contemporary Music Festival in  Brussels. She also received in Grand Prize at the International League of Women Composers, a prize at the 1988 Olympiad Composition Competition and First Prize at the Chang Ak Composition Competition. Among her many compositions are several works have been commissioned and performed in the United States and South Korea including ACDA(American Choral Directors Association),LA Master Chorale, Hollywood Master Chorale and Pro Musica.