According to her website “Eun-Ha Paek was born in Seoul, Korea and spent her childhood in Iran, Thailand and Los Angeles. She then attended highschool in New Jersey and studied Animation at Rhode Island School of Design. Most of her 20s were spent in San Francisco. She is currently in Brooklyn, NY.”

She is a part of the New York art collective The Milky Elephant.

Before you start throwing copies of “Wealth of Nations” at me, be advised that I only advocate Birkenstock’s because I think comfortable footwear is essential to a happy life. A belief in passifist-syndicalism is not, I assure you, a prerequisite for ownership. (For the record I’m an anarchist) Giving up 65,000 won at the Daegu Costco is prerequisite, and with a quick internet search that appears to be roughly half of what you might regularly pay. Be forwarned that many of the larger sizes (as of June 14, 2008) come only in white. You’ll have to dig down to the bottom of the palate to find these, rather fetching ones in “Birko-Flor Dunkelbraun” See you at Burning Man!

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

As the world fears for the fates of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee,  recently sentenced to twelve years hard labour in North Korea for illeally crossing the boarder, CBS talks with Vice Magazine co-founder Shane Smith about what its really like inside. In 2007, Vice TV released an undercover documentary on North Korea after entering the country as tourists. Armed with Sony Cybershots and two pair of sweaty brass balls, Smith and a cameraman risked a similar fate to capture a glimpes of what he calls “a sort of Disneyland ride of a socialist utopian state”

Across the counrty today people are celebrating the birthday of Siddartha Gutama Buddah, one of the worlds biggest spiritual figures. Buddhism came to Korea in …. and remains the second largest religion. The event will be honoured by religious ceremonies and parades.

Damien Hirst has always been know for sticking his finger in the eye of society.  It’s difficult to imagine a context that illustrates more clearly Hirst’s ability to do that than in Korea’s most conservative of cities.  A banner with Hirst’s “For the love of God,” a diamond encrusted human skull with the distinction of being the most expensive piece of art ever made, looms over the entrance to Leeahn Gallery in Daegu’s Daebong-dong district. The gallery’s

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Daegu’s Leeahn Gallery will be showing a small collection of works by British artist Damien Hirst, who rose to fame in the ninties for his series of pieces displaying dead animals in formaldehyde. The exibit includes a variety if his works from “Day by Day”, a cabinet filled with pills, to “Zinganja” a glossy pink canvas adorned with butterflies. The show runs until April 25. Leeahn Gallery is located in the daebong-dong area of Daegu just a short walk from downtown. The gallery is open 10-6 except Mondays with a guided tour at 3pm. Tickets are between w5,000 to w8,000.

Canadian expats heading back to Korea will appreciate this offer from Air Canada. $968 round trip to Seoul! Never mind the fact that Air Canada has become notorious for its deplorable service and heavy handed cut backs, at these prices you might not mind a few hours delay and some surly flight attendants. Book now, the offer ends on April 23, 2009

Korean bullfighting? Who knew? Well to qualify, its not the same bull fighting you find in Spain or Mexico. It is, in fact, more aptly called bull wrestling. Two bulls are lead into a ring and encouraged by their owners whoops and pats to lock horns and have it out until one backs down or  is pushed out of the ring. Long periods of relative calm are broken by the occasional clash of horns. The bulls are seldom injured, fights end more often than not, when one bull simple gets tired of the charade and saunters off to find something else to do. Matches, as you can imagine, can take hours and are rarely exciting to watch unless you’ve spice things up with a wager of a few thousand won. The tradition of Korean bull fighting is a long one, stemming no doubt from the endless boredom of  pre-Nori Bang agrarian Korea.  The 2009 Cheongdo Bull fighting Festival,  last week, was the biggest yet in its long history. Tens of thousands of fans crowding into the newly built stadium to get a glimpse of one of the world’s oldest past times. (more…)