Starting again from a happy home: Karen Kong on life, music and support
In this East Week video interview, Karen starts with food and her two cats before looking back on moving to Hong Kong, pursuing a Cantonese record, setbacks and finding the strength to begin again. The conversation connects everyday pleasures with what matters to her: continuing to make music and having people who accept and support her.
Hong Kong food and making her own videos
Reference position in the video · 00:00:12Having recently returned from Europe, Karen said she enjoyed Italian food but still appreciated the range available in Hong Kong. She liked being able to find flavours from different places, including Malaysian and Japanese cooking that reminded her of the originals. For someone who loves food, this was one of the pleasures of living in the city.
That interest also became a creative outlet. She described making food videos herself, handling the ideas, editing and publishing. The motivation was her enjoyment of food and the time she wanted to spend sharing something she liked.
牛丸 and 燒賣: two cats with food names
Reference position in the video · 00:00:56Karen soon turned from food to her two cats, 牛丸 and 燒賣. She laughed that even their names reflected her love of eating, although that did not mean those two snacks were her favourites.
Her favourite snack, she revealed, was actually stinky tofu, but she did not want to use that as a cat's name. The round, playful associations of 牛丸 and 燒賣 appealed to her instead. The light-hearted exchange introduces a more everyday side of the singer.
A one-way ticket and 做我自己: trying to start from nothing
Reference position in the video · 00:01:25Turning to music, Karen said she had never given up. She recalled opportunities in Hong Kong and the challenges involving her former company. Young and rebellious, she bought a one-way ticket hoping to start again. Living independently meant confronting a practical question: how could she take a first step when she felt she had nothing?
She pointed to her first Cantonese single, 做我自己, as part of that attempt. Its title reflected her wish to build a new beginning for herself: even without a ready-made plan, she wanted to take a step forward and keep looking for a way to make music.
Support from 趙增熹 and two interrupted recording plans
Reference position in the video · 00:02:29Karen described 趙增熹 as an important benefactor. She said he signed her, helped with her work permit and gave her a way to remain in Hong Kong with income, a place to live and room to make music. He also taught her songwriting and singing while she was still learning how the work was made.
Completing her own Cantonese record nevertheless remained difficult. She recalled two opportunities in which work had come close to completion but did not reach release. Looking back prompted reflection on unresolved hurt: disappointment involving her former boss, attachment to that earlier support and a sense of helplessness after leaving it.
Acceptance and support give her courage to return
Reference position in the video · 00:04:00Karen said recovery was not immediate. Alongside 趙增熹, other people gradually helped her feel that there was still love and hope. She valued those who accepted her as she was during that difficult period and offered support, rather than simply expecting her to recover at once.
She thought of her husband and church friends including 關心妍, 羅力威 and 雨僑. That companionship helped her regain the courage to face the entertainment industry and participate in King Maker III in 2020. The interview's movement from food and cats to records and setbacks connects the strength she found in everyday life and supportive relationships.