https://www.scmp.com/rss/518819/feed Annika Park is a freelance strategist specialising in regional brand strategy, cultural research and innovation consulting for some of the biggest private- and public-sector brands in the region. Born in Korea but raised in Singapore, she graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in government and education policy. A third culture kid turned third culture adult, she currently resides in Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Emerging from the Kowloon side of the Western Harbour Crossing, one of the first buildings you’ll see is the iconic International Commerce Centre. Covered in reflective glass, it’s a cloud-piercing vision in blue. I was driving past it the other day when I saw small bamboo scaffolding structures at its base. I don’t know why but the sight brought a smile to my face. There was something incredibly charming about Kowloon’s most glittering skyscraper being tended to by dangling sifus (craftsmen) in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3303905/hong-kongs-bamboo-holds-its-skyline-and-part-its-soul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3303905/hong-kongs-bamboo-holds-its-skyline-and-part-its-soul?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Mar 2025 01:30:08 +0000 I recently left my corporate job to pursue my personal goals. Once you leave a desk job, you tend to spend a lot more time on your feet. If your diary entries say 11am for coffee chat in Sheung Wan, a 3pm interview in Tai Po and a 7pm Cantonese class in Sha Tin, you’re inevitably caught in the liminal spaces of shopping centres and cafes. If you count where I’m writing this, that includes a Starbucks where I was finally able to find a seat after an hour of roaming around Central. Many will... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3277918/hong-kongs-malls-should-be-more-shopping-paradise-rich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3277918/hong-kongs-malls-should-be-more-shopping-paradise-rich?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Sep 2024 01:30:07 +0000 Every Sunday, when I walk through the covered walkways of Central, I feel as though I’ve stepped into a parallel universe. Past Exchange Square, in the same spots occupied by cigarette-smoking financiers on weekdays, I see middle-aged men lying face down for a cut-price massage. When I make my way down onto Des Voeux Road, where executives are seen during the week hurtling back from their mid-day workout classes, women are precariously perched on kerbside railings for the most public... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3272300/let-hong-kong-be-itself-city-where-life-always-finds-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3272300/let-hong-kong-be-itself-city-where-life-always-finds-way?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 2024 01:30:08 +0000 This week, the Hong Kong Tourism Board is responding to increasing criticism of the city’s service levels by rebooting a campaign from 2002 starring actor Andy Lau Tak-wah. In this series of new ads, Louis Koo Tin-lok is among the actors taking up the mantle and encouraging Hong Kong service staff to “go the extra mile”. I sympathise with the tourism board, which has a tough job of restoring Hong Kong’s allure as a tourist destination. Given factors such as the changing spending habits of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3265129/celebrity-nudging-no-solution-hong-kongs-tourism-woes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3265129/celebrity-nudging-no-solution-hong-kongs-tourism-woes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2024 01:30:13 +0000 I moved to Hong Kong three years ago in the middle of the pandemic to be closer to my partner. It was a move I never would have anticipated had I been on my own, or if there had been no Covid-19. Perhaps one of the few people who moved from Singapore to Hong Kong – rather than the other way around – I count myself lucky to have been employed when Cantonese (and Mandarin) was a must on job postings. Adjusting to Hong Kong was more difficult than I imagined. The first two years went by too... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3263359/how-learning-cantonese-allowed-me-fall-love-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3263359/how-learning-cantonese-allowed-me-fall-love-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2024 01:30:08 +0000