Wanted: fake partner to impress family at Hong Kong Lunar New Year gatherings
Single Hongkongers advertise for a fake boy or girlfriend to bring home to impress the relatives
Family gatherings and the pressures they bring are at the very heart of Lunar New Year celebrations, but as the Year of the Monkey nears, Hong Kong’s growing population of single people are going to extreme lengths to avoid the question they dread the most.
Rather than face the excruciating inquisition about the state of their love-life, single people of both genders are hiring fake partners to see them through the festivities.
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About 10 advertisements in Jobdoh, a smartphone application which connects casual workers and employers, are offering HK$250 for an hour of acting.
“The response is better than I expected,” the application’s co-founder Xania Wong said. “Quite a lot of people have applied.”
While the prospect of getting paid and eating all the traditional Chinese pastries for free sound like a dream job, it is by no means an easy one.
“You will receive and memorise all the information on who you are, how we met (and) our future plans,” one of the job looking for a fake boyfriend so their family “won’t be on my nerve” says.
“You will act like a gentleman – caring, attentive, no swear words nor smoking allowed.”