appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP

We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Are you ready, Army? Free BTS concert to mark a K-pop comeback like no other
The seven-member group – made up of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – will stage a free comeback performance in front of 22,000 fans, marking their first full show as a collective in nearly three and a half years, after the septet completed their mandatory military service.
2. How a mother’s 22kg weight loss led to bodybuilding and a healthy snack brand

The resident of Vancouver, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, not only lost more than 22kg (48 pounds) but also took up bodybuilding and launched a freeze-dried-fruit business with her husband.
3. How a Taiwanese chemist built a soy empire in Australia
Taiwan-born Eric Hsu never imagined his hard-earned chemistry degree would be put to use making tofu and soy products in Australia.
4. Jean-Claude Van Damme talks art, Hong Kong and ‘good friend’ Putin

The star of Bloodsport (1988) had swaggered into his art exhibition 40 minutes late, clad in full black, including the sunglasses he wore indoors. At 65 years old, the “Muscles from Brussels” still has a similar physique to the one at the height of his martial arts acting fame, though his hair is sparser and his gait less brazen.
5. How to ruin a classic cocktail and which one people need to stop drinking

Top bartenders from around the world converged in Macau for guest shifts and a revealing discussion on classic cocktails.
6. ‘I am a wild card’: James Taylor-Foster on being Para Site’s new director
The South China Morning Post is meeting the 33-year-old here shortly after the board of the Hong Kong non-profit art space Para Site chose him to be its next executive director. “I am what they call a wild card,” he says straight away.
7. Shizuoka, in Japan, needs more tourists. How does it attract them?

Chiharu Numata had a lot to celebrate when his store turned 100 in 2024. Masatoyo Knives had been in his family for four generations and had spent decades in the same location on the second floor of a commercial building in downtown Shizuoka.


Chinese brands eye Europe; Geely joins Chery and BYD in profit slide: 7 EV reads

Philippine pageant debate, Chinese stealth jets in Pakistan: 7 Asia highlights

Xi’s leverage ahead of Trump meet, Hong Kong schools: 5 weekend reads you missed

Shanghai’s changing expats, Hong Kong trail sign fallout: SCMP’s 7 highlights

SCMP Highlights

BTS’ comeback concert, Jean-Claude Van Damme talks art: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Van Damme with his artwork “Hong Kong”, an impressionistic reproduction of a scene from his 1988 film Bloodsport, at the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong. Photo: Elson Li

A concept photo from the 2021 album “Permission to Dance”, which included the hit single “Butter”. BTS is staging a free concert in Seoul, dropping a new studio album and preparing for a massive world tour. Photo: Instagram/bts.bighitofficial



Jenny Yue in February 2021 (left) weighing nearly 78kg, and in January 2023 (right) when she was about 56kg. Having rapidly put on weight during the pandemic, Yue lost it again by eating more healthily and doing regular exercise. Photo: Jenny Yue

The tomato martini trend was one that was talked about in a recent panel discussion at the Wing Lei Bar & Friends event at the Wynn Palace hotel in Macau. Photo: Shutterstock

A Birupaku sign on the stairway, right outside Masatoyo Knives, indicates tourist lodgings. Photo: Jonathan Vit

Viral Hong Kong eatery in Canada; actor Michael Tse’s resilience: 7 Lifestyle highlights

A photo of Hong Kong during the mid-20th century, colourised by OldHKinColour. The team behind the popular Instagram account uses artificial intelligence to bring such photos to life, but some say this “distorts” history. Photo: OldHKinColour

Anna Peng with her parents at their eatery Great Fountain Fast Food, a Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurant in Scarborough, in Canada’s Ontario province. Photo: Great Fountain Fast Food


Michael Tse (front) as Laughing Gor in a still from the film Turning Point (2009), a prequel to the TV series E.U. Photo: Intercontinental Film Distributors (HK) 

Angong Niuhuang Wan is among the most prized traditional Chinese medicine formulas and costs an eye-watering amount. But do the pills actually help prevent and treat strokes, and can they be harmful? Photo: Shandong Hongjitang Pharmaceutical Group

Ru Yuan’s signature braised pork belly and seasonal vegetables with soy sauce. At the restaurant in Hangzhou, China, chef Ru Yuan takes classic Zhejiang dishes and elevates them for modern diners. Photo: Ru Yuan

Philippines’ missile question, Nepal’s new PM is a rapper: 7 Asia highlights

Left: Takato Ishida, the 36-year-old governor of Fukui, attends a session of the prefectural assembly. Right: Ishida attending the Special Committee on Anti-Harassment on Monday. Photos: Instagram / ishida.takato

Patriot missile launchers are seen deployed at a US military base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Sunday. Photo: Yonhap/AFP

Balendra Shah, 35, receives his victory certificate on Sunday after defeating former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Nepal’s parliamentary election. Photo: AP

A Thai officer interacts with a woman who was brought to a police station instead of a hospital following a motorcycle crash in Bangkok. Photo: Facebook / anuwatf.ch7

China’s arms imports plummet, Hong Kong couple’s HK$50,000 Dubai exit: SCMP’s 7 highlights

China’s share of global arms imports is waning as it uses more of its own technology. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

A United States Air Force B-2 stealth strategic bomber. Photo: Handout

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is aiming to have a constellation of up to a million satellites operating as orbital data centres. Pictured is the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9. File photo: SpaceX/TNS

A 10-year-old girl in China has moved many people online with a farewell note to her migrant worker parents, offering them US$120 of her lai see money to treat themselves. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

News

Lifestyle

From a mother’s 22kg weight loss to a Taiwanese chemist’s soy empire in Australia, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting


From a mother’s 22kg weight loss to a Taiwanese chemist’s soy empire in Australia, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.


BTS’ comeback concert, Jean-Claude Van Damme talks art: 7 Lifestyle highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From a mother’s 22kg weight loss to a Taiwanese chemist’s soy empire in Australia, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. Are you ready, Army? Free BTS concert to mark a K-pop comeback like no other

From a mother’s 22kg weight loss to a Taiwanese chemist’s soy empire in Australia, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting