When 27-year-old Hongkonger Hogan Cheng Ho-hang was studying in Britain, he didn’t know how to express his love for his home city’s culture.
So after returning to Hong Kong, Cheng and his friends Christopher Chu Man-fung and Don Hong Ching-wah founded Kongcept, a platform that explores Hong Kong’s history and culture.
On Instagram, their page @Kongcept852 has gained over 20,400 followers since it started in October 2020. Kongcept’s Chinese name, ngo gong, means “I say” and sounds like “my Hong Kong”.
The platform delves into the city’s traditional arts, architecture and everyday life. For example, they explain how open-air food stalls, dai pai dong, got their name and why they are disappearing.
Starting from scratch
It was not easy launching Kongcept because none of the founders had studied history or culture, so they spent a lot of time fact-checking.
But Cheng said the lack of background knowledge actually helped the team to write about content in an easy-to-understand way.
Kongcept also offers city tours and workshops. In 2021, the group got a physical space in Kwun Tong called Kongcept Studio. They wanted to create a place for people who are passionate about local culture.
“We want people to experience culture not only online,” Chu said.
They also have a YouTube channel. Their first video interviewed the founder of Kowloneon, a neon light workshop trying to keep this craft alive in Hong Kong.
Record of history
For Kongcept’s founders, it is hard to make a living.
“Many people in Hong Kong are not willing to spend money on cultural content,” Chu said.
But they are still glad that many people are interested in their Instagram posts. They also feel motivated as they see young people promoting the city’s culture.
After three years of running Kongcept, Cheng believes it should be easy for everyone to learn about culture.
In the future, the group plans to make an app that notifies users about the history of nearby buildings and cultural workshops.
Chu wants Hongkongers to treasure the city’s unique elements while they’re still here: “We can’t really preserve [the culture] ... but at least we can make a record of it.”
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