The forecast says 29C and not a cloud in the sky. Neither perfect weather nor the promise of a glass of wine sat under the shade of a jacaranda should really determine whether you attend a conference but, well, they kind of move the dial, don’t they?

I hope that by now we have tapped you on the shoulder a couple of times to remind you that The Monocle Quality of Life Conference is imminent. We gather this coming Thursday for the welcoming drinks and then spend all of Friday and Saturday morning together.

And, yes, even at this stage, I want you to clear your diary and come. So just in case you are dithering, I wondered whether answering a few of the common questions and concerns that hit my inbox might help.

1. I’m a bit shy – is it OK to come alone?
Yes. Most delegates fly solo. Everyone makes friends and finds their people. I love watching guests arriving solo at the registration and then spotting them again surrounded by their new besties at the leaving breakfast, which is on a rooftop overlooking Lisbon this year. Again and again, I hear about friendships forged and business ideas hatched – in the arc of one conference – that have endured and flourished.

2. I’m not a conference kind of person. I hate lanyards.
So do we. There are no lanyards, no workshops, no breakout sessions. There are no over-rehearsed Ted Talks, no CEOs doing Powerpoint presentations. We will not make you sing a song or hold hands with anyone in some weird bonding exercise (if you want to have a moment with your neighbour, that’s down to you). Think of it as an urban retreat with interesting people who are keen to do even more with their lives.

3. It’s quite a lot of money.
Not if it changes your life.

4. Is everyone super cool? Do I need a new wardrobe?
Yes, most people are super cool but not because of who their tailor is or the logo on their handbag. They are cool because they are inquisitive, caring and know stuff. It’s relaxed: there will be people who embrace a shorts-and-T-shirt vibe and others who feel happier in a blazer. It’s an event where you can be yourself.

5. I’d like to meet the speakers. Is that possible?
We don’t run their diaries but I am happy to say that most of our on-stage talent is going to be around for the whole event. Conversations that begin on stage often continue late into the night.

6. And the Monocle team?
We love being good hosts and if you want to catch up with our design editor, Nic; Konfekt’s editor, Sophie; or Tyler, just say hello (it’s likely they will find you first). Or join them on the dancefloor – because there’s always a dancefloor.

7. Some of the panels don’t seem relevant to me.
You’ll change your mind. Take the hospitality session – this week I have caught up with all three speakers on that panel and I am genuinely excited to see what unfolds. Between them, they know about making brands and going against the flow but also about reorienting a family business and changing careers later in life. Their stories hold the promise of reshaping yours.

8. Will there be time to explore? I want to see the city.
Yes and we have organised access to some amazing places on the Saturday. We’ll ensure that you go beyond the usual sites that Lisbon visitors see.

9. Are there any surprises this year?
Of course.

10. How do I get one of the final tickets?
Head to monocle.com or email my colleague Hannah Girst now at hmg@monocle.com. Be spontaneous. End summer with a smile.

Want to read more of Andrew’s columns? Click here.

Hamburg’s best destination for independent print is Coffee Table Mags, a passion project founded by Thorsten Keller in 2014 (writes Fernando Augusto Pacheco). Keller deliberately keeps the selection of magazines small – about 100 titles – at the retailer’s shop inside the flagship of Hamburg-based brand Thomas i Punkt. The focus is on international titles relating to coffee, food, cycling, interiors and contemporary culture. Among its best-sellers are Japanese favourites, such as Popeye, and German publications, including Das Wetter and Waves & Woods.

“It’s not the biggest space but it’s compact and beautiful,” says Keller. When asked about the difference between his online customers and those visiting the shop, he says: “The online customer knows exactly what they want but in the shop, people get inspired by what they see while browsing. It’s a bit more random.” He’s also seeing a particular uptick in young buyers. “I’m positive that this new generation is invested in physical media and magazines.” 
 
You can find out more about Thorsten and Coffee Table Mags on Monocle Radio’s ‘The Stack’, airing today at 10.00 London time.

One thing is certain this summer: hundreds of thousands of people in Italy will be finding a shady spot in which to leaf through the pages of La Settimana Enigmistica, pencil at the ready. Loosely translated as “The Week of Puzzles”, the magazine has been publishing weekly since 1932, minus two short interludes during the Second World War. Hitting shelves every week, it features crosswords, jokes, cartoons, spot-the-difference puzzles and rebuses – a game involving finding a phrase or word from a combination of letters and images – that have made it a household staple. 

“Summer for a large part of Italians is about being under the beach umbrella with La Settimana Enigmistica,” says Alessandro Bartezzaghi, who has worked for the publication since 1982 and became its editor in June 2022. “It’s the same for young people, who see it as a way of socialising, with one person suggesting a solution and another something else. I always say that our magazine is for the solitary in winter and for the social in summer.” 

‘La Settimana Enigmistica’ has been Italians’ puzzle magazine of choice for almost a century. Here its editor, Alessandro Bartezzaghi, explains why.

Germany’s armed forces appear to understand that finding yourself in a kebab shop beyond a certain hour of the evening is likely to prompt a person towards rueful consideration of what they’re doing with their life (writes Andrew Mueller). The Bundeswehr, hoping to capitalise on such moments of existential crisis, is now putting military recruitment adverts on kebab wrappers, supplied free of charge and emblazoned with a QR code for further information about life in uniform. The German military’s headcount is at its highest in 13 years, with 186,705 full-time troops, but the country still needs to find another 80,000 or so by 2035 to meet Nato targets. If chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to fulfil his ambition of fielding Europe’s strongest conventional army, the size of Germany’s armed forces is going to need to become a better match for its geographical, economic and diplomatic heft.

Kebab-wrapper adverts are perhaps a slightly more sophisticated, modern take on an old-school means of recruitment: trapping heaving, comatose drunks aboard an understaffed naval vessel en route to Cape Horn, only to wake up and wonder how they got into this hammock. Germany’s Ministry of Defence calls the strategy of catching people’s attention as they go about their daily lives “ambient advertising”. In this specific context, it makes sense – it’s hardly unheard of for someone to venture into a kebab shop looking for a fight.

South Korea’s soft-power ascendancy goes beyond catchy songs, skin-care routines and K-pop Demon Hunters: it also extends to its artistic exports (writes Fiona Bae). Multidisciplinary artist Suh Do-ho held a hit exhibition at London’s Tate Modern last year while Lee Bul’s mid-year retrospective arrives this November at the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp. 

Though Suh and Lee, both in their sixties, attract global eyes on merit, it is impossible to ignore the influence that K-pop’s genre-crossing stars are having on the country’s art scene. The growth of global interest in recent years can be traced to musical icons-turned-patrons such as G-Dragon and BTS’s band leader, RM, whose passion for collecting has moved young people toward fine art. After completing his military service last June, RM is back to growing his collection (and performing); a single post from his Instagram account can ensure that a museum show in Seoul sells out.

That kind of K-power does not go unnoticed. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is presenting RM’s personal collection in October, with the show including works by modern masters, such as Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun and Kim Yun Shin. The National Museum of Korea (NMK) in Seoul was a traditional and staid museum until its embrace of popular Korean culture, which transformed it into the third most-visited museum in the world, trailing only the Louvre and the Vatican Museums. Blackpink’s members – Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa – recorded multilingual audio guides for its galleries, while NMK’s grey façade and grand plaza were illuminated in hot pink for the group’s latest EP. The museum mania went into overdrive with the release of K-pop Demon Hunters merchandise; fans queued from dawn to buy limited-edition collaborations from the institution’s gift shop.  
 
Say what you will about these pop-culture crossovers but they are injecting fresh energy and buzz into Seoul’s already well-established art scene. Business is booming. Click here to read on.

Not been on monocle.com recently? Here are three updates worth your while.