The Trend Blender

\n When Tofu Disappears from the Table, the Soybean Era Begins Tofu served as an everyday side dish, along with doenjang and ganjang—staples of Korean soups and stews. But what if these familiar foods were suddenly shaken by supply shortages and rising prices? Soybeans are now emerging as a key factor in assessing food security, far beyond their role as an ordinary ingredient. That is because the government has chosen to halt additional imports of soybeans in an effort to expand consumption of domestically grown soybeans, even as roughly 80% of Korea’s edible soybean supply depends on imports. The problem is the price gap. Imported soybeans cost around 1,400 won per kilogram, while domestically grown soybeans cost approximately 5,000 won—about 3.5 times more. For tofu and fermented-sauce manufacturers, switching to domestic soybeans inevitably means a sharp increase in production costs. Some in the industry are already expressing concerns that prolonged supply i...

\n The Night Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” Came to a Halt As tens of thousands of fans sang along to the chorus, the legend onstage asked the crew for a chair. The moment Lionel Richie suddenly left the stage while performing his signature song, “All Night Long,” left fans shaken by more than just an unexpected disruption to the concert. The incident took place during the “Sing a Song All Night Long” tour at The Muny, an outdoor venue in St. Louis, Missouri. Seventy-seven-year-old Lionel Richie appeared to lose strength in his limbs during the performance and tried to continue singing while seated in a chair. However, as his physical exhaustion and overall weakness became increasingly apparent, he ultimately could not complete the show. Immediately after the concert, he received assistance from emergency medical personnel and decided to check himself into a hospital as a precaution. He was later reported to be under observation in the ICU, while local repor...

\n How Low-Code Is Shifting Ownership of AI Development Who is most likely to notice the earliest signs of customer churn? In most cases, it is not the data scientist building the model, but the sales team—those who speak with customers every day and manage contract renewals. The same applies to equipment failures. The people most likely to detect subtle changes in noise or recurring warning alerts first are often the workers on the front lines. So what if they could build predictive models themselves? Low-Code Machine Learning starts with precisely this question. By allowing users to visually configure everything from data preparation and model training to performance evaluation and deployment, it is expanding ownership of AI development beyond professional developers and data scientists and into the workplace itself. Domain Knowledge Becomes the Starting Point for AI Models Traditional machine learning projects usually involve a lengthy process: A busines...

\n g.na Reemerges After Breaking a Decade-Long Silence Singer g.na, who once dominated the stage with hits like “I’ll Get Lost, You Live Well” and “Black & White,” has appeared before the public again after a hiatus of nearly 10 years. However, her first destination was not a Korean music program or a massive concert venue. Instead, she chose a local K-pop event in British Columbia, Canada. In 2026, g.na participated as a special MC and judge at the K-POP Dance Championship held as part of Canada’s Kimchi & K-Food Festival . Although this was not a formal comeback as a performing singer, her presence onstage—watching and evaluating performances by local K-pop fans—was itself seen as an official reappearance that broke her long silence. There is clear symbolism in this choice. For Korean-Canadian g.na, Canada is more than simply an overseas destination for activities; it is also a place connected to her roots. Rather than stepping straight into the inte...

\n Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano: A Seven-Goal Thriller That Shook Camp Nou In the 12th minute, an unexpected silence swept through Camp Nou. Rayo Vallecano’s Sergio Camello had opened the scoring, putting defending champions Barcelona 0–1 down. But Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano was a match that showed exactly how a champion responds when faced with adversity. Barça did not waver. Raphinha equalized in the 19th minute, and just two minutes later, Lamine Yamal completed the comeback with a go-ahead goal. In just nine minutes, 0–1 had become 2–1, and the momentum of the match had completely shifted in Barça’s favor. The goal fest continued after halftime. Barcelona extended their lead through Florian Lejeune’s own goal, only for Camello to strike again and pull Rayo back to 3–2. However, Raphinha put the result beyond doubt with his second goal in the 71st minute, and Yamal calmly finished in the 90th minute to complete a resounding 5–2 victory. This win was about m...