Christine Kuo is Finally Enlightened
Christine Kuo (苟芸慧) had no idea what she signed up for when she signed her TVB contract in 2009. The Taiwan-born Miss Chinese International delegate from Toronto, Canada admitted that she was very perplexed by her direction in life.
“To be an artist is to entertain the audience, but I failed to understand this concept no matter how many times others tried to explain it to me. I was just not enlightened, and to be enlightened, it takes time. Although I am still not completely sure at what I’m doing now, at least I am working towards a positive change.”
Homesick
After winning the Miss Chinese International crown in 2009, Christine decided to stay in Hong Kong to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, a decision that was made under the support of her family. “My parents wanted me to learn how to live an independent lifestyle, so they suggested me to come to Hong Kong. I’ve only lived here for less than four years, but it felt like I’ve been living here for as long as ten years. As an actress, we tend to substitute our thoughts with our characters and roles, so our lives definitely feel more bountiful.”
Recalling her first return flight to Hong Kong, Christine laughed, “I wanted to go back to Canada as soon as I stepped out of the airplane. I called home and said, ‘Mom! Why is my room as big as our bathroom back home?’ Afterwards, I found out that my flat in Hong Kong is considered to be pretty big for local standards. I really enjoy the expansive and relaxing lifestyle in Canada. I didn’t know about [the compact space in] Hong Kong until I arrived. That is what I call experience. These experiences tell me that I’ve been living such a lucky life. I will not complain about what I have now, because compared to others, I am considered to be very fortunate. I need to cherish this fortune, and be happy.”
The 29-year-old shed tears at the mention of her parents and her home in Canada. “Family is very important. Many people make fun of me for mentioning my father and mother all the time, but my parents brought me into this world, so I have the responsibility to take care of them. But now, I am unable to… I once told them to come to Hong Kong, but they said they wouldn’t have anywhere to live because my place is so small. That is why I will work hard and earn the money to buy a bigger flat. That way, my parents will not have any excuses to not come.”
Criticisms
Arguably the biggest struggle that Christine has had to go through after coming to Hong Kong is speaking Cantonese. Coming from a Mandarin-speaking family, Christine did not properly take up the Cantonese language until after arriving in Hong Kong. Fortunately for Christine, she is not in this battle alone. Through common foreign backgrounds, Christine has made many lifelong friends with other foreign-born TVB artists. “We initially privately talked with each other in English, but we later found out that it is better if we converse in Cantonese as well so we will improve faster.”
Although Christine’s Cantonese has improved tremendously since her debut, she admitted that she still has a lot of room left for improvement. “I still need to write pinyin when I’m reading the scripts. I really want someone to be always at my side to fix my pronunciation and grammar. Sometimes, I would say something wrong without realizing it.”
Besides Cantonese, another big struggle for Christine to overcome is the dramatic culture shock. “The Hong Kong and Canadian cultures are very different. Hong Kong people are afraid of committing faux pas. They will not directly point out one’s faults, but I will be very straightforward in expressing my opinions. This is normal in Canada, but it is not very well-accepted in Hong Kong. However, since I am living here, I can’t force others to change their lifestyle for me, so it is up to me to adapt to their lifestyle. I will learn how to speak more tactfully.”
Happy to Be Called “Goddess”
Branded as a desirable “goddess” by many men, the attractive and voluptuous Christine quickly took on many prominent roles after debuting in her first television drama in 2010.
“Thank you, everyone, for taking good care of me. To be well-liked by others is not inevitable, so I will not let fame get to my head. I will cherish it. I am quite happy with this honor, but I do want a breakthrough. I want everyone to see a different side of me, but I know this takes time, so I will not rush it. When it comes to goddesses, I believe Brigittte Lin (林青霞), Rosamund Kwan (關之琳), and Vivian Chow (周慧敏) to be the true goddesses.”
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
I understand the culture shock. I went to HK and it was so different from Canada. I only went for a few weeks and couldn’t wait to get back on the plane; I can’t imagine permanently living there given that I’m so used to the lifestyle in Canada.
What’s the culture shock for you?
There’s people everywhere, there’s less room, it’s hot, it’s noisy… everything combined makes it feel very uncomfortable. Plus I’m so used to driving everywhere in Canada but I can only take the transit in HK. At least I know Canto so I can communicate with others.
Oh dear, Japan will leave you traumatised then! At least just Tokyo. I had culture shock in the sense I am not allowed to eat my ice cream as I walk but rather stand by the side and finish it off before wandering away. That took away every enjoyment out of eating an ice cream for me.
Funn: what ? really? you are not allowed to eat ice cream when you walk around?? I did that everywhere I go in Tokyo LOLOL
Tokyo, yes but zoom to Sensoji temple, probably the most commercialised temple site, no. Ever seen the japanese eat and walk at the same time? I am sure they were too polite to stare at you but in their hearts probably going “foreigners….”.
“The Hong Kong and Canadian cultures are very different. Hong Kong people are afraid of committing faux pas. They will not directly point out one’s faults, but I will be very straightforward in expressing my opinions. This is normal in Canada, but it is not very well-accepted in Hong Kong. However, since I am living here, I can’t force others to change their lifestyle for me, so it is up to me to adapt to their lifestyle. I will learn how to speak more tactfully.””
Because in Asia, apart from politeness, tact is the secret arsenal to survive our society. Which quite simply means that try to frame your sentences to be mild sounding but in actual fact could be quite harsh. The art of sarcasm should be exercised. I read about how in western countries bosses sometimes screams at workers with the F word. In Asia, you will get a beatdown eventhough in Asia we are workers aiming to complete the work rather than work to earn income to enjoy life so to speak. Different mentality.
And I find it very hard to believe Christine is capable of being rude or without tact. Perhaps it is better to admit being rude than being an idiot?
You must not be living or worked in Hk. Being yelled at with the f word in hk workplaces is very common. Tact is non existent with a lot of Asians. Just like how some people lack tact on this website.
Tess is right, the people here are horrid.
And you can’t do anything because everyone has a smartphone/iphone and will put you on youtube if you tried.
No I don’t live or work in HK. They cuss in English or Chinese cussing word? Don’t mistake being absolutely honest as having no tact. There can be a difference between the 2.Generally i find HK people rather… serious and sometimes highly strung, not friendly but not quite rude. The ones living outside of the city were surprisingly very very friendly though.
Wow it is that bad in HK??? My sister in law is from there but has never mentioned those things to me. I guess she just did not want to scare me.
It’s dog-eat-dog out here.
Being poor means you need to work hard and working hard means you get a lot of stress.
Just got back home. Went down to the school to get some teaching materials for my students and dropped by McDonalds along the way. Grumpy random gramps was eating with his granddaughter about 6-ish years old. Now, in HK we have fried chicken on the menu, one is smooth-skinned and the other is crispy. Gramps returned his bucket back to the counter because he received smooth-skinned by mistake and wanted it exchanged. Attendant apologized and gramps started RAGING at everybody like “X your mother! F-ing no good punks ripping me off, your food tastes like (poop) anyway, you brats and your (poopy) attitude. What? Call the cops, (X your mother) I don’t give a (X)”.
Pretty sure I egged him on by smiling the entire time since I was next to him.
I don’t know, felt bad for the kid though. I know she was probably thinking “please stop granddad, please stop” since everybody in the Maccas just stopped eating to watch.
@dd you should have taken a video and posted it on YouTube. That situation is very common. My brother gets yelled at by his manager with “X body part this”, “X body part that” on a daily basis in a pretty well known accounting firm. He is a senior auditor and those that are newbies gets it worst. I know a lot of people from out of Hk can’t stand hk’s working environment and they have to leave.
@dd
Are you from NY? If so, how has that prepared you for the concrete jungle of HK?
I myself spent 5 interloping years there with my family and found the people quite survivalistic and superficial (generalizing of course).
I had learned much of my canto from the open cussing on the streets by people like the grandpa dd had described. I got to learn the words for all vital body parts of the human anatomy.
I am not sure if F words can be used in western country when the boss was angry at you. If colleagues and bosses were joking around using F words, that is normal. but to scold at the staff, I dont think so, because in western country we have a law of “abusing” and “Harassment” to protect the employees, so the company can be sued for that.
I saw few countries in Asia, the bosses can scold in F words as they like. But no in Western countries, at least not in Aust and UK, dunno about USA, Canada tho.
She is indeed speaking the truth about the culture shock. I personally never went to hk but heard many stories too. I feel the same for her, must be hard. Many younger Canadians are blunt and straightforward, don’t know if its a flaw cause some peeps get offended by it. I say stuff too of what’s on my mind and some older gen. folks always say the younger gen. are too blunt. Go figure.
hmm.. she’s pretending to be good now?
yeah, afta everything she’s done? like car shaking & all that sorta stuff……
so i guess you believe Tavia’s car shaking too!
you must be living under a rock. the ‘car shake’ incident was a just a scene in Friendly Fire.
Poor Txb and 620, they opened a press conference and then the fastest lawsuit letter to sue AppleDaily but now ppl only think it’s a scene in a series? Too useless.
Yeung4Life..DUHHHH 凸(¬_¬)凸
@ Fox, you have not watched Friendly Fire that’s why you do not know and that’s okay. But Friendly Fire did have that as a scene. You should check out the drama and then decide.
Unrelated to any series. Having it in real life and acted in a series, there are two different and separated incidents. And please let me refuse your invitation. No, I cant force myself to bear anything I dont want to see.
P/S: and comparing a real life car sex, sorry, shake to a series car shake, I know everyone know which one is more deserving to laugh at and which one is not.
I think you guys have miscommunication problem.
@Fox. The ‘the ‘car shake’ incident was a just a scene in Friendly Fire.’ sentence written by 939393 is referring to Christine Kuo’s scene, not Tavia. 939393 was replying to yeung4life not Nicole.
@Kidd: If that, oh sorry I have misunderstanding.
@939393: So it’s a draw :P. You misunderstood me once, I misunderstood you once.
everyone, you need to get this message across:
THE only reason why she’s talking about her contrasting life in HK and Canada right until now is because both TVB +HERSELF want us to forget about her past negative image (that she car shakes + goes to arranged dinners with old ‘n rich men) by empathizing her.
BUT CHRISTINE, I’M TELLING U, IT’S TOOOO L8!!!
I think the good ppl left in the industry are TAVIA and definitely LINDA
😀
Er.. your example of “good ppl” car shakes. In fact, Christine doesn’t have any photos so hers is a rumor, while Tavia has photos in compromising positions.
Are you trying to sabotage Tavia ?
Tavia had a car shaking incident too lol just because you’re a fan doesn’t mean you be blinded!
When Linda first started, there was a rumour that she went to an arranged dinner with few powerful men in the industry, and then she had the role “Sheung Joi Sum” which was assigned to Fala.
So rumours can happen to anyone.
It is not fair that you just ignored ” car shaking ” incidence for Tavia because she is your idol, but choose to believe Christine ‘s rumour.
LOL! Christine’s incident was a picture taken during a TV shoot that the media made stories up about.
Tavia is caught drunk with her face in the lap of her boyfriend as he was driving her home.
Not much bias there 😛
As for me no Hong Kong ppl are not that bad I like the place, they still maintainef the cantonese culture that one cannot find elsewhere; they are very hard working ppl, they are efficient and they speak a bit louder coz they just hate ppl annoyed them that’s all.
She sounds fairly matured in this article. I’m glad that she’s not contented with her ‘goddess’ image and wants to strive harder for a breakthrough. Work a little harder with your canto and maybe take up some acting classes and you’ll get there!
Yeah agree with the culture shock. Not to mention how brand/image conscious, dirty and unhygienic people in hong kong are. Don’t know how people born in western countries can stand living there permanently…
I don’t really agree with the shock of living space. Move to any big city and you’ll see the same thing. Of course suburban houses will have bigger rooms than apartments in the center of the city.
Good job girl, let everything out of your window and you will find it’s a better life.
She speaks poor Cantonese and worst in English. No one would actually believe she’s from Toronto…
Lol so true.
Agree. For someone who immigrated to Toronto at the age of 12, Christine’s English was considered NOT GOOD.
Is she really that beautiful? To each their own I guess, I just don’t see it, in fact I find her quite annoying.
Why do I see her everying single time on entertainment news its bad enough that I have to see her in most of the TVB series like already MYGOSH stop shining the spotlight on her already!!!! I bet she enjoys the attention since the media keep tagging on her!!!
she doesn’t look good in that pix…
Hong Kong born Canadian here, Christine is gorgeous! I came to Canada when I was 2, I can’t imagine going back, as I wouldn’t be able to stand the heat, I love the short summers here, among other things. F the haters!
Christine immigrated to Toronto with her parents when she was about 12 years old. She was not born Canadian; she was born and grew up in Taiwan.
This could turn out good or bad. She could forget all her Cantonese while with her family, or become more confident and somehow get better at acting (maybe confidence influences acting quality).
christine kuo is a weed girl
How is her performance in ‘A Great Way to Care 2’? Has she improved?
no. not one bit.