Breaking | Swimming in Hong Kong author Stephanie Han explains how she figured out her own story
Korean-American author Han explores the interrelation of different cultures in her new book of short stories, and says it is through writing that she finally found her own place in the world – and made peace with it
It was a chance encounter on the street – somewhat bizarrely, over a sandwich. They got chatting and although they were heading in different directions – Han had been in Korea studying the language and was passing through Hong Kong on her way back to the United States – they kept in touch.
Since that fortuitous encounter, Han has divided her time between Hong Kong and her hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii, working mainly as a creative writing teacher.
At the end of last month, she received her permanent Hong Kong ID card and celebrated the 20th anniversary of meeting her husband by watching the latest Transformers film (“We took our son. Life changes, right?” she says).
Having two bases inevitably raises the question of where “home” really is. “Home is really complicated,” says Han, whose family was among the first group of Korean immigrants to move to Hawaii in 1904. “It is for most people in Hong Kong and I think I’m a typical Hong Kong person.”