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I am the only child in my family. 
But I never became the typical conservative boy that people imagined. I was labeled as “too talkative”—I love sharing with others. But what I got in return was to stand outside the classroom as punishment.
I did sketching at home after school. It was my favorite pastime.  
My dad went to the Philippines for work when I was only two years old, from then, I flew to visit him every two years. We were not very close, but I remember the time when I rode on his motorbike, holding onto his waist as he showed me every corner of Philippines. 
He passed away when I was 17.
He ran a department store, a supermarket and restaurants. From my great grandfather to my dad, they all worked in the Philippines and were quite well off at that time.
But I was stuck between the middle-class and the poor. I grew up in San Po Kong surrounded by ladies, including my mother, my aunt and my grandma.
My mom worked in a garment factory. She often brought home rolls of threads, and I would help her cut them. That was the happiest moment, when I could work and talk to the kids next door.
Nowadays, the architectural design of modern housing is tearing apart all those networks of relationships in the neighborhood.
My love for drawing paved the way for my studies and career. I graduated from the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 1989.
I got my first camera, an Olympus 135, from my grandfather, who loved photography. It led me into a brand-new world.
The June 4 incident in 1989 had great impact on me. It changed my mindset and I started to think more about society.
I worked for the Children’s Daily. My first assignment was to take a picture of the world’s longest crocodile. I was put into the cage with it. As I didn’t have a wide-angle lens, I took four pictures of the crocodile from head to toe and pasted them together later. After it was published, the editor said it was well received by the kids. I was so delighted when I heard that compliment.
I believe photographers should leave space for people to tell the stories themselves and not dominate a scene. I kept this in mind when I was taking photos of cage homes and old shops.
I published the book, “Hong Kong Apothecary: A Visual History of Chinese Medicine Packaging” in 2001 [Chinese edition] and 2003 [English edition]. I was seeking to be the number one, as no one had studied that before. I was aggressive.
I spent four years collecting the fascinating medicine boxes, bottles, labels and advertisements from the previous century. My mother complained that I went crazy. I kept all 2,000 items at home. 
I remebered there was an old couple that i reached for their old stories on Chinese Medicine. The first time, they threw me out as they thought I was checking to see if they had a proper license. The second, third and fourth time they shouted obscenities as me. But on the fifth try, they said they would give me 15 minutes. That 15 minutes became a three-hour happy chat.
I met my wife, Iman Fok, when I was working on a photo project for SoCO, where she worked as a social worker. 
When we were dating, she often ran off suddenly in the middle of a meal without saying a word. But she would later apologize and explained that her clients needed her urgently.
Her commitment to helping people attracted me. 
My wife and I established Hulu Culture two years ago—we wanted to provide a platform for young people to develop a positive yet critical mindset.
Both my wife and I put our careers on hold. It was not an easy decision to make, as I was the senior photo editor at Next Magazine. Now, we feel rewarded that we have a close relationship with our daughter.
We are organizing an “iTour.” Each participant will carry an iPad, and we will tour around Sham Shui Po—with just a touch to the gadget, they will be able to see pictures of the area from a century ago.
I love Hong Kong and I am proud to be a Hong Kong person.


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First Person: Simon Go

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From his background in design and photojournalism to his current passion towards preserving local Hong Kong culture, Simon Go is committed to creation and conservation. As the project director of Hulu Culture, an organization devoted to preserving indigenous culture through community awareness, he shares with Emily Wu his love of all things Hong Kong.
