Latest news with #KiSoonDo
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Six great reads: Sam Altman's spectacular comeback, British preppers, and fear and loathing in Starbase, Texas
This week, as OpenAI signed a potentially zeitgeist-shifting deal to buy former Apple design head Jony Ive's device company io, Emine Saner interviewed Karen Hao, author of a new book about the rise and fall and rise again of OpenAI founder Sam Altman. Hao says we should all be wary of the power he now wields. Read more 'The flavour unfolds slowly, first salty, then deeply savoury, with hints of something almost floral. It bears little resemblance to the bottles labelled 'soy sauce' in western supermarkets.' In the lush foothills of Damyang county, South Jeolla province, rows of earthenware jars stand under the Korean sky. Inside each clay vessel, a quiet transformation is taking place, one that has been occurring on this land for is the domain of Ki Soon-do, South Korea's sole grand master of traditional aged soy sauce, where patience isn't just a virtue but the essential ingredient in her craft. Raphael Rashid visited to taste a sauce so powerful it has gained Unesco heritage protection. It is recognition that is 370 years in the making. Read more Once, getting ready for the apocalypse was for the paranoid. Now, in the face of cyber-attacks, climate breakdown and nuclear threats, the UK government recommends it. Zoe Williams asked: should everyone have a survival kit? Read more 'Along a flat, coastal highway in south-east Texas, surrounded by wetlands and open plains, the artefacts of a new American oligarchy appear in quick succession. Three towering rockets stand upright on the horizon. A fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks speeds by. A large mural of the Shiba Inu 'doge' dog stares ahead, its arms crossed. There is a 4-metre-tall (12ft) bust of the world's richest person, painted in bronze, facing a dusty roadside. 'ELON aka MemeLord', a plaque beneath reads.' Starbase in Texas, where the world's richest man has a rocket-launching facility, was incorporated this week. Mars obsessives are flocking there – but some long-term locals are far from happy, discovered Oliver Laughland. Read more The former Liverpool defender has become, for millions of viewers, the face of English football punditry. In this brilliant profile for the Long read, Kieran Morris explored the rise of 'Carra' and the changing nature of how we talk about sport. Read more Have you ever craved ditching the desk to spend your time outside? Donna Ferguson met five people who did just that, from a banker turned park ranger to a cook turned falconer. Read more
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Five Great Reads: a soy sauce grand master, quitting your office job, and how prepping went mainstream
Happy Saturday! Semicolons are supposedly dying. How many can you spot in this newsletter?* Plus: If I ever quit my job, disappear with a stockpile of soy sauce and spend my days watching Jeff Goldblum movies, you'll know the clues were always here. Five people were fed up with being inside all day; they worried about their lack of fresh air, and wanted more time in nature. So they decided to quit their desk jobs. To my complete joy in reading past this headline, these people found outdoor jobs, a stable income and a renewed sense of purpose. 'Surrounded by wildlife, I feel peace of mind': Steve Kell, 59, worked as a high-street banker from the age of 18. At 30, after recovering from an illness, he decided to quit; and he has been a countryside ranger ever since. 'I've never not enjoyed a day in this job': Mandy Abbott, 60, was a cook in a North Yorkshire estate kitchen for 30 years. She now helps run a birds of prey centre with her daughter on the same property. How long will it take to read: Six minutes. Ki Soon-do, a '10th-generation custodian of her family's sauce-making legacy', is the only person in South Korea officially designated as a grand master of jinjang – 'a soy sauce aged for more than five years that has developed a depth of flavour'. Ki's jinjang has been served to Donald Trump and has gained Unesco heritage protection; it is recognition 370 years in the making. What are the three ingredients of traditional Korean soy sauce? 'Soybeans, water and salt,' Ki says. 'And care and time. Without time, there is no flavour. In modern life, everyone is rushing. But some things cannot be rushed.' How long will it take to read: Three minutes. Prepping for the end no longer seems paranoid – not after Covid, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the climate crisis, rising cyber-attacks, and renewed nuclear threats. The UK government even recommends it. Fact v fiction: Zoe Williams points to the 'most perfect self-contained episode' of The Last of Us, with Nick Offerman's character, Bill, who is a prepper and survives the end of modern civilisation; should everyone be more like Bill and have a survival kit? 'I particularly like that story arc … because it reminds folks that prepping isn't supposed to be about out-surviving others, but building a better world.' – Ed González-Tennant, digital archaeologist How long will it take to read: Five minutes. Two more tabs to open: Even Guardian columnist George Monbiot has been stockpiling food, and Australia's top epidemiologist answers whether we are prepared for the next pandemic. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion Dom Phillips died alongside the Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira trying to warn the world about the Amazon's destruction. The rainforest – home to millions of people and animals, rich biodiversity and potentially life-saving pesticides – was the Guardian journalist's focus. He cared not just about how it could be saved, but why. This week's long read is an extract from the book Phillips was writing at the time of his death. It is essential reading. How long will it take to read: Nine minutes. A giant second ecosystem worth saving: Ocean with David Attenborough review – a passionate case against the ruination of the seas. I absolutely adored this flashback with Jeff Goldblum. The actor and musician reflected on the power of puberty, overcoming his fear of acting and what Michael Winner yelled at him. He also shared the devastating experience of losing his brother in his late teens, which was 'terrible' and 'monumental'. Looking ahead: 'I am 72 now and I'm sure I'll crumble at any minute,' Goldblum says. (How is this guy in his 70s?) How long will it take to read: Three minutes. A deeper look at losing loved ones: 'My sadness is not a burden', author Yiyun Li on the suicide of both her sons. *Four semicolons. Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.
