Materialistic Love: Karena Ng Was Born for High Society
It isn’t easy to be remembered in the entertainment industry, and while artists are scrambling their way to find that one big movie or television drama to become a household name, there is that one odd flower Karena Ng (吳千語), who is known simply for her dating life.
Born in Zhejiang, Karena made her debut in 2011 as the female lead in Raymond Wong’s (黃百鳴) fantasy film Magic to Win <開心魔法>, starring alongside Louis Koo (古天樂) and Wu Chun (吳尊). Karena, who just graduated out of high school at the time, was discovered by Raymond Wong in a tissue paper commercial she shot the previous year. Magic to Win gave her a nomination for Best New Performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2012, and critics dropped her name as the biggest young actress to watch in future years.
The critical success quickly fazed out, however. In February 2013, Raymond Lam (林峯) publicly admitted to their relationship, and Karena became more known for being Raymond’s girlfriend than being an actress of her own right.
It wasn’t just any normal relationship. Paparazzi were quick to discover that Raymond liked spoiling Karena with materialistic things. At one point, the paps reported that Raymond spent 1.8 million yuan on luxury bags in Milan for Karena. Their relationship was never well-received by Raymond’s fans, and it’s not hard to see why. Fans blamed Karena for treating Raymond like a living ATM. Karena did not come from a wealthy background, but her insistence on meeting friends who are from rich families, like Raymond, just confirmed those expectations.
According to a source, Karena’s mother always had the goal in mind to have Karena mingle with high society. After Karena debuted, she continued to encourage her daughter to meet with various rich second-generation celebrities to become friends with. Before dating Raymond, Karena dated Chester Lim (林建億), son of former Miss Hong Kong Ellen Wong (王愛倫). After breaking up with Raymond, Karena started a relationship with Brian Shi (施伯雄), grandson of real estate entrepreneur Shi Ziqing (施子清).
Source: Sina.com.cn
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
I actually find it sad that she has to live in someone else’s shadow and cannot be known for who she is. I personally have had to live in others’ shadows and hope that one day I can live and be known for my accomplishments and for who I am, not for who I am related to or associated with.
I also find it equally sad(if it is true) that her mom encourages her to meet with rich people. It is good to build up your network and connections but it is truly sad if your only goal is to hope he hitched by someone rich. It is more important to work hard and build your own career and wealth rather than hoping that you can take someone else’s hard earned or inherited money and riches. What her mom taught her is the direct opposite to what my parents taught me.
@hetieshou
Perhaps she had a difficult childhood. Yeah, quite sad to make a name for yourself as a gold digger when you can try making something bigger out of your life.
@m0m0 I had a difficult life and childhood as well but not once did I dream of marrying a rich guy so I can leech off of him. Yes it is always better to make a name for yourself through your own efforts rather than trying to be a gold digger. How sad is that?
The mother’s warped sense of values was passed onto the daughter.
@msxie0714
Very well said and like mother like daughter.
I think her roast pork background and poor education has hit her hard. There will always be a mental scar. Even if she marries into a upper class, I can’t see the partner’s family respecting her or her family.
@jimmyszeto she will always be seen as a play toy for the rich men’s sons. from one rich man to another, no one will take her seriously as wife material.
@janet72
You never know as look at Michele Reis. She was a sex toy and gold digger but appears to be happily married now so who knows? She did many bad things too so I truly wonder why she continues to live such a happy life? Maybe her karma has not bit her yet?
@hetieshou Michele reis was a third party when her husband was married to one of Stanley Ho’s daughter. She had a high profile relationship with some guy called Joseph. Don’t know about her being sex toy.
@janet72
Really? I do not know much myself but heard that she dated many rich men who were already married. I heard she even caused the wife of one of those rich men to get cancer and died as a result. Basically,she did a lot of bad things but is yet living a happy and luxurious life now so I wonder where the karma is? Maybe it will strike her later in life?
A bit off topic, but I heard that the son of Dik Ying(that evil actress that kicked Yammie) is now suffering so many are saying that karma is biting back at her. Maybe the same thing will happen to Michele?
Sure everyone would prefer to have a rich partner but it’ll be a lot more respectable if she became rich by herself/from her work/investments etc before dating a super rich guy. Taking this “short cut” (dating a rich guy right off the bat) just paints her as a gold digger, and that’s all she’s known for these days…
@myxx
Karena isn’t educated enough to become successful through investments and would need to rely on others to do it for her. Also she would be wasting her youthful years if she does not look to gold dig early. You can imagine though once she marries into an upper class family, the topics of conversation in the household will be world affairs and the stock exchange while her interests will be the best next seasonal designer bag….
@jimmyszeto what you said of Karena might be true, and the reality is it is so sad. I know Raymond’s family never approved of her. I have nothing against her, and I thought she handled a lot of things in a mature manner, but I am also open to face certain realities. When one is sel driven, and has a strong wok ethic, it does not always take degrees and fancy education to work hard and achieve financial security in life. Andy Lau is a good example. He dropped out of school at an early age because he went to work to help support his family. He doesn’t have facy degrees and a grade 12 education. What he has is the ability to work hard and achieve for himself and that is an honorable character trait rghht there. He is now a billionaire.
Sadly Karena will always be seen as an opportunistic gold digger.
@jimmyszeto she isn’t educated, so the next best thing is to work hard to be somebody. instead, she became a toy for the rich. even if she can hook up to a rich man’s son, her partner’s parents will not accept her.
a woman’s youth is limited.
@janet72
She won’t be wife material and won’t be accepted by upper class families simply because the whole of China and Hong Kong have heard about about her long term, high profile relationship with Raymond.
@jimmyszeto Degrees don’t mean anything. They can get you to places quicker and easier, but doesn’t mean those that have one knows everything or are educated about everything. All it says is that they spent 4 additional years of schooling to learn whatever for their field.
Karena might not have a degree, but she had a career before that.
Unfortunately, dating Raymond made it so that their relationship overshadowed her career. Her infamy will get her more jobs, so she still has time to display her talent and skills. She was doing okay in the movies before meeting Raymond.
Not to mention, I know jack about the stock market. It’s only recently that I started planning for my retirement funds and investing in stocks. Karena is years younger than me, so this idea that you need to be highly educated to discuss worldly affairs and stock exchange is silly. All you need is some interest in reading the news and some interest in making money and that’s it.
@coralie
I didn’t say every single person in the world need an education to be able to able to move into financial investments. However, everything is based on probability and chances are low for someone without an education. Even if they are able to discuss world affairs and stock market it would likely not be very advanced material.
@jimmyszeto I don’t mean to come off so aggressively – sorry about that. I do agree that for the most part, most people with a lower degree of education tend to be less informed about financial markets or worldly affairs. However, where I disagree with this is with celebrities. Their exposure to all kinds of people and businesses might actually make them more aware of the financial environment and culture they’re living in. Lots of HK artists have branched into different businesses despite never having a finance degree, because of the experience they had dealing with the business side of entertainment.
@coralie
I disagree that degrees mean nothing as I worked extremely hard for my degrees. My education helped open up my mind to many things that I would not have known if I did not endure those years of schooling.
It depends on the person since some can go through years of school and know nothing while others do learn a lot. If degrees meant nothing then what is the point of spending years and years effort in school and not to mention money and getting in debt?
In Karena’s case, her high profile relationship with Raymond truly gave others a pretty negative image of her. Just because anyone dates a rich guy does not mean you need to ask for this and that. For example, Andy Lau’s wife came from a well off family and her husband makes millions but yet she is simple, down to earth, thrifty with money,etc… of course people are going to say it is because she is not a celeb but who said celebs had to spend lavishly and be made up all the time?
@hetieshou I will just say I agree to disagree. Working in the real world has taught me that education only gets you through the door; the rest is really up to a combo of street smarts and working knowledge.
Unless the degree is advanced or geared towards a specific discipline, otherwise, the degree is at most a general education piece of paper.
Most people in the US do not move towards an advance degree either unless it’s promotion-dependent.
@coralie @hetieshou
The degree may not guarantee success in the working world but it help build a solid foundation. Seemingly minor skills such as socialising with classmates, time keeping, meeting deadlines, discipline and ethics are developed at university. Although these can also be developed in the working world, the environment can be more harsh and these minor skills can be ignored.
@jimmyszeto All these skills should be learned from birth from your parents, environment, school/work, friends, etc.
University might hone those skills more acutely, but work is really where you can’t eff up. Because unlike schools, work doesn’t grant you that leniency. Which corresponds with what you said.
Education creates a foundation for our careers, which I’ve never contested. I’ve said that from the beginning. But it definitely doesn’t mean we know everything just from 4 years of schooling. It gives us the privilege of forming the foundation for our work, but experience can’t be dismissed either. In fact, many times over, people prefer hiring those with experience over those with a fancy degree.
@coralie
In the working world we get to meet all kinds of people. Some with terrible work ethics who do the minimum, take sickness days for no reason, fake their ability or backstab. A lot of these have not had had a good education whether that is at home or they did not go to university. Different skills are developed at different stages of education life. Missing any stage can be critical. There are always exceptions and work experience is important. However there are plenty of jobs that give leniency because the workforce is so big that people with poor ability sneak through and do not get sacked and people with just good socialising skills advance very high. The initial foundation is the most important and will set them for life.
@jimmyszeto Those with good educational foundation won’t be properly utilized if they lack the prerequisites of good socializing skills/experience. I’ve seen it many times – talented, educated people get ignored or dismissed in place of those who are better at buttering up the bosses.
Even people with proper degrees can be backstabbing, disingenuous, and have terrible work ethic. Many well-established geniuses of past and present don’t even need that fancy degree to accomplish what they did.
That piece of paper formed some foundation, but it’s meaningless without the experience behind it. Not to say it doesn’t help to get in the door, but experience and social intelligence can be more useful than a piece of paper sometimes.
@coralie
I totally agree with you that having an education does not mean you will not back stab and stuff. Yes kissing up skills help sadly. But some do not want to sink so low.
Like I have mentioned those successful people are exceptions to the rest of us average citizens so using them as examples is not valid. How many people like them exist? Not many….
Once again, none of us said that experience is not important because it is but you need to have education as well. A good analogy would be someone who wants to learn martial arts. I used to wonder why they always made you carry buckets of water, chip wood, etc.. I then found out that it was to build your physical strength so you are strong enough physically to learn even the basic moves. I feel that is like education which is a foundation. If you do not have that foundation everything else may collapse. Of course not to stay you cannot be successful without an education but it will be a lot harder.
@hetieshou @Coralie
I can speak for myself that I studied Accounting and Finance at university but the industry I have moved into is totally unrelated to the degree. I didn’t enjoy the course but completed it anyway. Although the actual knowledge from studies I have slowly forgotten, what I have learnt through the university experience is invaluable. The mixing and cooperation with high calibre students, writing countless essays with research, meeting deadlines, planning revision, groupwork, student life etr trains us up to hardworking ethical characters which will set us for life. I have heard a lot of people similar to @coralie say ‘not all’ go to university but still become successful and not all backstabber, unethical workers are not educated. But the world is based on percentages and a much larger percentage with good education become successful compare to non educated. A much larger percentage are not ethical because they lack education. I know there are plenty of exceptions but we have to use maths. If a martial artist had a good master then he would be taught respect and be more ethical than ones without a master. We can say ‘not all do this and that’ for literally anything but that does not mean it’s a valid argument. There are plenty who have dismissed the importance of a degree that I’ve met. I can see their flaws but they can’t see their own flaws. They can’t see it because they haven’t been through the full education process so cannot value it’s importance. The ones that have dismissed the degree as unimportant are either they haven’t got a degree or they did not put enough attention to their studies during their time at university. Work experience is important but most people with a solid foundation can work themselves into a job. An uneducated will take a lot longer and may need to focus on socialising skills to hide their lack of knowledge. Saying Karena can still become an investment expert just because she is young is disrespectful to all the people who have studied years of finance to get to where they are. It’s not just a mere piece of paper.These people have put hours and hours of heart, blood, sweat and tears into their work. Hours upon hour of research, camping in the library writing essays/dissertations. Although there are exceptions, without the foundation you can give someone like Karena 100 years + and she may never be able to get to that level….
@jimmyszeto
Very well said and even though what I studied is relevant to my field but I had to take a lot of GE classes which helped me expand my knowledge in other areas. I find it sad that some just do not value education like they used to. When someone is educated you can easily see it versus someone who is not. Yup, we put so much blood, sweat, heart, effort, endless nights of studying, pulling all nighters,etc… just to get our degree. I find it sad that some will disregard it as just a piece of paper. Physically that is what it is, but the hard work and effort that we put into it and what it represents is what’s important.
@coralie
I do not think Jimmyszeto ever said that work experience is not important because it is. Honestly, I job hunted a lot and in my field, most of the job listings said you need at least a bachelors degree and I am sure they require that for a reason. Also, 1-2 years experience in some cases too. Therefore, the strongest candidates are ones who have both some experience and a degree/education. If someone has the experience and no degree many would frown on hiring them as well. Who said that you know everything after 4 years of undergrad studies? No one knows everything and none of us dismissed work experience.
@jimmyszeto
Very well said and that was what I was trying to say. Of course, a degree does not guarantee success but helps you not only build the necessary skills in your field and those minor social skills and other disciplines that you would not have if you just blindly jumped into the workforce with nothing. The workforce can be an ugly world and you can easily bump into a lot of bad people which may in some cases delay these skills that you should have learned if you attended university beforehand.
@coralie
I totally agree with you that working in the real world teaches you many things of course. However, I can tell you my education really helped set the foundation for my career and many other things. For example, I am very happy that I got my masters degree in my field because it helped open up my mind to many things that I never knew before. Same with my bachelors degree which helped me open up my mind and built a foundation for me. I find it sad that you are disregarding education like that. I wonder did you attend university? Just curious and I do not mean any offense in that question. You seem so anti education. Physically the degree is just a piece of paper but it is a powerful piece of paper that may make or break you in some cases.
It is not true that most do not go towards an advance degree. It seems like a bachelors is not enough these days so many go for at least the masters(which was what I did) and a PhD. My 6th brother got his doctorate and in his field you cannot just jump into the job if you know what I mean.
True that a degree does not guarantee success but at the same time, many of us need it in order to have a foundation and get our foot in the door in many cases. Unless we are Einstein, Edison and other special people who succeeded even with little education. However, they are exceptions to the rest of us.
@hetieshou @jimmyszeto – actually, similar to jimmyszeto, I’ve had a degree in the medical field that I’m no longer interested in. My degree was actually nursing and that’s an extremely grueling major to get into and complete. However, because it has such a narrow focus, having it is practically useless when it comes to the real world (if you’re not going to work in this industry). I’m now working in an entirely different field and didn’t require my nursing degree to get my position (although like I stated before, having a degree just gets you into the door easier). I worked my way up from knowing nothing about my job to getting to a managerial-type position. Did I learn anything from obtaining my degree? Sure. But did it help with anything for my current position? Nada. What did help me was my perseverance and motivation to move up, along with increasing my working knowledge while on the job. So that’s why I say a degree is a piece of paper that only helps you with your field. If you’re doing something completely different outside of your degree, you can still use on-the-job knowledge, training & common sense to get where you need to go.
not to mention, most jobs these days don’t require dynamic knowledge (unless it’s a very specific job.) people I know in their positions only utilize several tools to do their jobs optimally and those can be learned. it’s why people get on-the-job training. and I’m talking about practically most general jobs in the corporate world.
@hetieshou @coralie
Your degree in nursing isn’t a good example because it is so niche.Some degrees are a lot broader and will prepare the individual with a lot more options. I agree that most jobs can be trained and knowledge is overrated but the ones who are are more likely to adjust to new jobs or industries are people with solid foundations built from a good education. People without the education will be more likely to get confused with simple learning tasks and lack the common sense. I have emphasized the important of a degree not because of the subject knowledge. The degree process are obstacles an individual have to overcome to develop the individual as a person. The developing of socialising skills, etiquette. punctuality, thinking processes, discipline, ethics etr.Not everyone are born with parents who are professionals that can teach this skills.I think @coralie has ignored these important aspects of the degree and focused more on the subject content therefore labelled it just as a piece of paper that can help you get an interview. It’s a lot more than that..
@jimmyszeto You don’t need college for that. I can say, for sure, that everything I learned in college, I learned in high school (with exception to the actual core material for the nursing degree.) I guess it varies. My high school was an exam school in my city, so the discipline was vigorous and my studies were just as arduous and difficult as college was (as far as bureaucracy is concerned.) I know some people who are very well-rounded and capable of handling just about anyone, who have never had a college education. Of course, that greatly hindered their career options, so they went back to school to obtain that degree. But if you were to gauge these people without knowing this beforehand, you would’ve never known they not college-educated.
I guess it depends on the person as well, which is where I will make that concession. The ones that maybe you come across without a degree might be unsavory characters. But the ones I’ve come across varies, with or without a degree.
In general, yes, having a degree is best, not only for practical purposes (because what job will really hire you nowadays without that diploma), but also because it does build the foundation for your career. But the diploma only says you were taught information; it doesn’t mean you retain that information. Neither does it mean you can fully utilize that information. Neither does it mean you know the stock market or how to invest. But there’s always help available. If anyone has an interest in learning, they can get help with google, the library, etc. The diploma is a nice acknowledgment, but no one really needs that to be well-adjusted or be educated about stocks and whatnot.
I am partisl to the comments of @hetieshou and those of
@jimmyszeto.
Yes,we can all work hard and change our career paths, but having a degree will help our employers make the decision to hire us in the first place.
@coralie, you said you have a degree in nursing, but you changed your career path to something totally different. Well, I have news for you. If you think that having that degree did not help get you hired, think again. It showed your boss and others that you are smart, Intelligent and capable of obtaining an education and a degree. It is a large foot in the door, a solid foundation to start with, and it makes people respect you. I see many times that the people who have degrees get treated better, and get promoted more than those without, although the people without degrees are doing the same job, and well, I must say. Having the degree is not all, don’t get me wrong. When you get the job, displaying team workability, the desire to work hard and improve, good, positive rapport with others, the ability to listen, help, honesty, showing respect, willing to work unsupervised on your own, all these fantastic work qualities help. However, if you have that degree, it makes you a gem of an employee.
@bubbletea I acknowledged that a degree is what you need to get your foot into any career nowadays, because that’s the lowest expectation. The reason this became a discussion point to begin with is that there’s this idea that just because someone didn’t go to college, that they’re not ‘educated’ and wouldn’t know how to discuss advance subjects related to say, the financial markets. Well, sure, if you went to college to study finance, then of course you would be way more educated on that topic than say someone who studied biology or someone who never went to university at all. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be self-taught or that they’re not educated on their own. That is an elitist mentality and disparages people without a diploma, as if they are less than those who have a degree. I can only say I’ve met a ton of dumb@$$es in my life with a degree and also many that don’t have a degree, so I don’t buy the idea that you need a degree to be competent and knowledgeable. It builds a good foundation and gets your foot into the door, but otherwise, it doesn’t measure your ability in real life.
And honestly, you don’t really need to have so many great qualities to finish college to get a degree. As long as you read/write/follow instructions/afford college, you can get that diploma. Where I’m from, colleges are everywhere. I admit maybe because of that, my views on obtaining a certificate is highly skewed. I think just about anyone can get it if they really want to, which really says nothing about the person except that they really want a degree (ok, some are in it purely for academic reasons, which is great. hats off to them. but most people go to college for a degree to make a living.)
@coralie you do have some great points and I can, and will agree to what you said. I have met a lot of degreed donkeys in my time. I have also met a lot of folks who know a lot about stocks, bonds and can carry on a highly intelligent conversation with professionals and PhD professors, etc. However, that degree has become a staple nowadays and it is worth sacrificing for. In this day and age, most people who don’t have one wish they did, cause they don’t get the promotions, or the jobs of their heearts. A lot of parents are firmly encouraging their children to obtain a degree, especially if the parents did not habe onr. They tell the children, “I want you to achieve more out of lifr than me, so stidy hard and earn an education and and a degree.” No it is not all there is to life, but having that degree opens doors that otherwise would be closed in one’s face. I see your point too. Bill Gates did not finish college, and he can talk stocks and bonfs and many socail anf political topics with the best of them. So I hear you. While on the other hand, Donald Trump has degrees from Ivy League universities and is the most ignorant, dumbest jacka$$ for a president.
@jimmyszeto
I agree and many fields have skills that can overlap which would be good for people who want to change careers. The basic skills learned in school is what helps define us as a person which is why when you are educated, it shows versus someone who is not. It is not just the subject matter but the whole experience and the other skills that we acquire not just the subject matter. A degree is not just a piece of paper to get your foot in the door. It is sort of like how some say that a marriage certificate is just a piece of paper but it is much more than that. It is the meaning and significance behind it as well. Sadly many do not get that…
Oh lord! Her mom sounds either cheap or greedy what a shame.