From Trinidad we go to the Middle East with a recipe for two appetizers that are quickly becoming as American as apple pie: hummus and babaganoush. The only thing that might be hard to find in these recipes is the chickpeas. You can find them in Itaewon at the imported goods shop on hooker hill, Hannam Market and Shinsagae Department store in central Seoul. In Daegu you can find them in the imported goods market in the northwest factory district. In Busan, in the imported goods markets on the street beside Sasang Emart. You don’t need a blender to make these recipes but it makes it easier. Mezze is usually served with Arak but I find beer to be just as good. Pastis is a little closer to Arak and you can find that in Hannam Market too (see our Seoul map). The Marsaille Pastis is a little less anisey than the Pernod and will interfere less with the flavors in these dishes. You can’t have mezze without pita so I included a recipe for them as well that you can do without an oven. Making mezze from scratch takes a little time and a bit of elbow grease but it’s a great way to impress the shit out of your friends and co-workers and could also probably get you laid if you find the right person to share it with.  That and cooking is its own reward, right? Isn’t that why you are reading this?
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The auteurs.com is one of the best websites currently available for cinephiles. It features two main sections: a “notebook” area with a number of contributors, featuring a fine selection of reviews and great coverage of a number of major festivals (currently there are daily updates from Toronto); and a “films” area with a large selection of full-length streaming features. The movies that are available depend on your region, but in Korea there are many fine films, most of which are difficult to find here. Among the noted directors included on the site are: the Dardenne Brothers, Jafar Panahi, Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Alexander Sokurov, Philippe Garrel, Jan Svankmajer, Laurent Cantet, Gregg Araki, Jia Zhangke, Francois Ozon, and others. Each film is $3 dollars each, a very reasonable deal. Additionally, if you purchase $12 credits, you are given another $3 bonus. So for $12 you can watch 5 films. Thus far I have seen two excellent films: THE SON (The Dardennes Brothers, 2002) and THE MIRROR (Jafar Panahi, 1997), and the quality in both cases was very good. Even better, there are currently four free films on the site. They are all restorations sponsored in part by Martin Scorsese’s World Film Foundation: THE HOUSEMAID (Kim Ki-Young, 1960) (South Korea); DRY SUMMER (Metin Erksan, 1964) (Turkey); TOUKI BOUKI (Djibril Diop Mambety, 1973) (Senegal); and TRANSES (Ahamed El Maanouni, 1981) (Morocco). I first saw THE HOUSEMAID at the Jeonju Film Festival in May, and it remains the only classical Korean film I have currently seen. It is a fascinating film in the context of not only Korean society at the time, but also in relation to the rest of world cinema. (more…)

Foreigners can now buy chips with a credit card rather than just cash. The move is aimed at boosting foreign investment by making it easier for gamblers to lose their shirts. This comes as a crack down on P2P porn sites in Korea that were  violating copyright laws to make it easier for men to see women with their shirts off. Despite fears at home about H1N1 Japanese tourist are flocking back to Korea. Tourists should be aware of the fact that Chinese knock-offs of Korean products, including beer, are getting harder to detect, but only when you have had a few.

The One One Four’s Chris Tharp spent this August trekking through the jungles of South China and Northern Laos. In this two part series documenting his travels, Chris and his companions go from Shanghai to the Mekong River and south into Laos on a 25 day journey into parts of the world few people have ever seen. Along the way they met travelers and expats from around the world, eat steamed bee larvae, fired grubs, and grilled rat while numbing the pain of the ass-busting bus rides with the Chinese equivalent to soju, Baiju. In part one, Chris goes from Shanghai to Jinhong and met up with French expat Gregoire who into introduces him to the wonders of donkey stew. Check back this Saturday for part two: from Jinhong to Muang Ngoi. (more…)

Gwangjin police are investigating the possiblity that an elephant was the culprit in a rock-throwing incident at Children’s Grand Park Zoo that sent one woman to the hospital. Word is the elephant became the prime suspect when several peanut shells were found in the area. President Lee Myung-bak will be participating in the G20 summit Sept. 20th-26th to discuss globalization and green growth, in Pittsburgh of all places. Apparently no venues were available in Chernobyl on those dates. In economic news, Korea’s own Park Ji-sung has extended his contract with Manchester United through 2012, guaranteeing that all the Nike outlets on the peninsula will still be half-filled with ManU jerseys. And in case you couldn’t find anywhere to shop in Seoul, a new indoor/outdoor mall is opening in Yeongdeungpo today.  Odds-makers are giving an early betting line of 3-1 that it’s a Family Mart by this time next year.

This year’s Pusan International Film Festival, still scheduled to go on Oct. 8-16 despite other festivals being cancled due to H1N1 fear,  will have a record 355 films from 70 countries, 98 of which will be world premieres. The One One Four has compliled a list of the top 10 most anticipated film of this years line-up. Also if you haven’t seen TAXI DRIVER or BONNIE AND CLYDE or the other films of the New Hollywood retrospective in theatres, this is a great opportunity. Part of the fun of a festival is checking out things you would never see otherwise, so I encourage viewers to participate in some “cold” screenings as well.
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A veteran Canadian immigration official in South Korea has blown the whistle on abuses by foreign students of a work-study program.  Korean students are increasingly flocking to the Philippines to learn English on the cheap despite the low standards of the programs. For those of you flocking to the platform in Seoul be aware that the subway system is introducing “walk right” policy starting in October.  While commuters in Seoul save on gas by taking the subway the S.K government has been planning to test a smart-grid that lets users measure energy usage on Jeju.

What: Jimmy Dean ground pork sausage (frozen), Maple and Sage flavors, 1lb (453g)

Where: Dandy’s Grocery (inside same building as Hannam Supermarket), Seoul

How Much: W8600

Anyone who has experimented with the Korean versions knows there’s simply no substitute for good old-fashioned, western-style sausage. Whether you fry it up as-is, make a pot of chili, or use it in countless other recipes, this is the good stuff. It isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it.

If you spot something hard to find in Korea send us an email at info@theoneonefour.com and we’ll post it on The One One Four.