linus
Hong Kongers always have been asked:
“Do you know Kung Fu? Jackie Chan? Bruce Lee?”
There’s no denying the global impact Hong Kong cinema once had. Even an African drummer I know grew up watching Jackie Chan movies in theaters—and especially enjoyed the kung fu comedies featuring “Sammo” Hung Kam-bo.
But for many outsiders, their understanding of Hong Kong culture stopped in the 1990s—Chow Yun-fat, Stephen Chow, and the “Four Heavenly Kings”* may have been the last major cultural figures to leave a lasting impression.
Meanwhile, other Asian pop cultures have surged, most notably South Korea’s. Since the late 1980s, the Korean government strategically supported growth from electronics to online gaming, and then film and K-pop, creating a global phenomenon.
So where does that leave Hong Kong?
If we consider the 90s as the cutoff, then Hong Kong pop culture is now trailing global trends by about 30 years. Nostalgia is powerful—but the past is the past. Instead of clinging to faded glory, perhaps it’s time we face reality and begin again.
The world is changing. Hongkongers have scattered around the globe, and our culture is evolving with us.
The older generation often described Hong Kong as a displaced or rootless people. I never fully agreed—no one leaves home willingly when there are better choices.
But now that many of us are again living abroad, what common threads connect us?
What are we still proud of?
That may be the question at the heart of it all.
meritokratias
