Maybe it has nothing to do with the language. If Hong Kong is a pressure cooker, then the past few years have felt like the valve has broken.
I look like I can speak Cantonese because I’m Korean, which is inevitable. With each passing day, I felt like Hong Kong was telling me, “You don’t belong here.”
It took me two years to sign up for a Cantonese course. Much of that time was spent searching for a program that was right for me, but also introspecting the causes of my feelings of fear, anxiety, shame, anger, and self-loathing. . After living with these feelings for a long time, my resentment revealed its true form.
11:48
Why do Hong Kongers care so much about Cantonese?
Why do Hong Kong people care so much about Cantonese?
After all, that was the ugly side of entitlement. It took me two years to understand that Hong Kong didn’t owe me anything. This is a Cantonese-speaking majority city, with Cantonese being the normal language for over 88 percent of the population. Who was I to think I could get away with not having to learn?
Last January, I enrolled in a government-subsidized part-time Cantonese course at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Almost half a year has passed since then, and thanks to two hours of classes twice a week, a good curriculum and dedicated teachers, I can now say that I can converse in Cantonese to some extent. However, I can say with confidence that what I have learned most is more than vocabulary and grammar.
When I was buying bread the other day, the shopkeeper said this to me.Bhai maai yat chai a?” – If you want to consolidate all your purchases into one bag. Previously, you would have frozen them.
04:57
Add interest to your Cantonese words with phrases related to “disappear,” “disappear,” and “hide.”
Add interest to Cantonese with phrases related to ‘disappear’, ‘disappear’ and ‘hidden’
Instead, I found myself explaining to her in broken Cantonese that I was Korean and studying Cantonese, and wanted her to repeat what she had just said so I could understand what it all meant. My heart was pounding, hoping that this busy shopkeeper would tell me to stop wasting my time and leave.
Instead, she smiled kindly, explained what she had just said, and made the next time I bought bread from a Chinese bakery feel much easier.
For me as a foreigner, learning Cantonese meant more than mastering the language. It helped me let go of my ego, sense of entitlement, and expectations of what Hong Kong “should” be. By doing so, we found out what Hong Kong people really want. It shows respect for a language that many fear may become less commonly spoken.
And for that ounce of respect, I receive a pound of joy: a sense of belonging that comes from a deeper connection to the city, its culture, and the people who call it home.
Annika Park is a senior strategist at TBWA Hong Kong.
