It is always good to see young artists pouring out their passion on stage. If they are extremely talented, the pleasure doubles. The fifth “DITTO Festival,” featuring young and talented musicians performing the most intimate form of classical music, chamber music, will be held June 9-30 at the Seoul Arts Center and LG Arts Center. This year, the legendary German composer J.S. Bach will be highlighted at the hands of the main members of the Ditto Ensemble ― violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill, violin

South Korean mountaineer Kim Chang-ho climbed all 14 Himalayan peaks of more than 8,000 meters without oxygen tanks, becoming the first from his country to do so and setting a world record for completing the climbs in the shortest span of time, the Korean Alpine Federation said Monday.Kim reached Mount Everest (9,848 meters), his 14th peak, around 9 a.m. Monday, the KAF said. It took him seven years, 10 months and six days to complete his challenge, about a month shorter than the previous record

A North Korean concentration camp escapee will receive an international human rights award for raising global awareness of atrocities taking place in the communist country, a news report said Tuesday.The Voice of America said the Switzerland-based non-governmental agency UN Watch decided to give the 2013 Moral Courage Award to Shin Dong-hyuk, who has been made famous by his biography “Escape from Camp 14.” The award ceremony will be held in Geneva’s League of Nations Hall on June 5 with the defe

Renowned Korean artist Kim Chang-yeol, famous for his water drop paintings, has pledged to give his major works and documents that show his artistic practice to Jeju, according to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province officials. His donation includes 200 works that represent major periods between 1957 and 2013 and documents, photographs, painting tools and more. The collection is estimated to be worth 15 billion won ($13 million) to 20 billion won. The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province signed

An Argentine human rights group was awarded the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the May 18 Memorial Foundation on Saturday in recognition of its work for the children of victims of kidnapping, torture and murder during the dictatorship of Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla. An estimated 30,000 people were killed in a ruthless campaign of forced “disappearances” and other abuses in the mid-1970s by Videla. The former dictator died at the age of 87 on Friday at the Marcos Paz Prison in the Argentine capit

The National Assembly Budget Office on Sunday admitted that the “Globalization of Hansik” program had failed and needed major revision, dealing a blow to the pet project of former first lady Kim Yoon-ok, who dreamed that “all people around the globe would enjoy Korean cuisine.”The project launched by the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2009 included a bold plan to open a top tier restaurant in Manhattan and the publication of cookbooks in several languages.  However, NABO said that though some 2

Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho was named special adviser to the International Table Tennis Federation last week, company officials said.During its general meeting in Paris last Friday, the ITTF selected Cho in recognition of his efforts to promote peace through table tennis and further develop the sport, according to the officials.Sports insiders said Cho had been at the forefront of developing table tennis as head of the Korea Table Tennis Association and vice president of the Asia Table Ten