The Open Door UK

S01E16: Sue Cheung is an award-winning children's author with her debut novel, Chinglish, winning the Diverse Book Awards. 

In this episode we talk about her relationship with illustration and writing, an exploration of a childhood in the takeaway, and the difficult choices she made in her early adulthood. 

Timestamps: 

(1:18) Sue’s new book, Maddie Yip: A Guide to Life

(5:21) Why illustrate and write children’s literature?

(7:16) Process of children’s literature creation

(8:09) Where do quality characters come from? Imagination vs. Reality?

(9:26) Journey since the launch of debut novel, Chinglish

(15:19) Relating to dilemmas in literature

(16:03) Attitude towards initial reluctance to tell personal story

(19:10) Chinglish excerpt

(19:55) Parents’ negligence towards children’s education

(24:24) Parents’ reaction to pregnancy

(29:52) Doubt about decision to move away from son

(31:40) The Chinese takeaway being passed down

(37:38) Relationship with Hong Kong

(43:39) Immigrant parents influencing own parenting

(49:38) Advice to her son that she never got growing up

----

Our Socials:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

For other podcast platforms, check out our link for other services at:

https://anchor.fm/the-open-door-uk

S01E14: Chloe Kwok is a multi-instrumentalist composer working at a video game company, Rare Ltd. She has composed soundtracks for the game Sea of Thieves, a first-person multiplayer action-adventure game. She is incredibly down to earth and had us laughing throughout the episode!

Check out her soundtrack for Sea of Thieves here.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:21 Chloe’s journey into classical music

8:10 Working at Rare Ltd, a video game company

9:32 What makes a good video game soundtrack?

16:29 Chinese music from Mainland China and Hong Kong

23:27 Cantonese and Chinese School

30:15 Having an identity crisis

47:52 Is a university degree necessary for video game composing?

50:11 Any other ESEA women in your field?

58:22 Advice for aspiring video game composers

---

Rare Ltd.

Chloe's:

Instagram

Twitter

Website

___

Our Instagram @theopendooruk

S01E13: This is a conversation with Dr Hanifi Baris, a research fellow at the University of Aberdeen with a Kurdish Armenian identity. He practised as a Lawyer in Istanbul, Turkey, for around 8 years working closely with Human Rights. And before his current post as a researcher he worked at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a legislative consultant.

In this episode we talk about his childhood growing up in Turkey, a place hostile to the Kurdish identity and undermining its right to exist. We also discuss the Kurdish Political Philosophy as the population does not have a permanent state of its own. As a person from a cultural group that straddles four countries - a minority everywhere - I ask him at the end what “Home” and “belonging” means to him personally.

---

Timestamps 

(1:09) Childhood relationship with Kurdish Armenian Identity

(8:38) Thoughts on modern Kurdistan

(22:45) Accepting identity at university

(28:39) "Identity becomes salient when attacked"

(32:27) Subtle cultural signifiers that betray “otherness”

(41:08) Relationship between different Kurdish minorities

(45:03) Movement of people between the Kurdish Borders

(50:59) Kurdistan’s deliberate and reactive statelessness

(1:04:11) Where is “home” for you?

---

Dr. Hanifi's paper on Kurdish deliberate and reactive statelessness: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348634497_THE_KURDS_A_HISTORY_OF_DELIBERATE_AND_REACTIVE_STATELESSNESS_1

---

Our Socials:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

This episode is also available on Spotify.

For other podcast platforms, check out our links here.

S01E12: Tayo Rockson still remembers what happened on Aug 22nd 2012.

He was dissatisfied with his job in a city he didn’t want to live in. Driving to work another car cut him off, forcing him to swerve into the road guard, and flipping his car onto its side.

He was left with no serious injuries. But this brush with harm or death stirred up an existential crisis, “Who am I? What have I done with my life?”

Now, nine years on, he is the CEO of UYD Management, a cross-cultural consultancy firm. He is the host of a successful cultural podcast, As Told By Nomads, where it’s on its 570th episode. And, he’s also been invited to do three TED Talks… in one year!

As a Nigerian, he has lived in four continents, five countries. He is now based in New York.

Tayo's Website 

Tayo's Instagram 

---- 

Timestamps 

(1:22) Tayo’s Third Culture Kid background

(12:36) Life under Dictatorship vs. Democracy

(19:51) UYD Management’s journey

(28:26) How to deal and communicate with ignorant and privilege people?

(34:14) A specific and vivid memory from his international childhood

(37:30) Tayo’s opinion on Black representation in America

----

Our Socials:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

This episode is also available on Spotify.

For other podcast platforms, check out our links here.

S01E11: "The ultimate sense of belonging is to yourself", says Jasmine Lo, an advertising/marketing strategist. 

She is also a creative writer (accompanied by her bookstagram @extreme.metaphors) - with an ability to create illuminating descriptions, for example, in her letter for her late grandfather. The episode begins with a recitation of that letter. 

In this episode we talk about the nature of writing about family and the craft itself and Identity/Belonging. 

Jasmine's writing

---

Timestamps: 

(0:53) Jasmine’s letter to her late grandfather

(2:34) Writing about family

(5:50) Family reminiscing past relatives

(11:22) Changes in individual language usage

(20:03) George Orwell’s four writing motivations

(23:03) A possible missing fifth motivation?

(28:25) Writing that seems otherworldly

(34:42) Cultural background and identity

(36:19) Character traits surfacing in different cultures

---

Our Socials:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

This episode is also available on Spotify.

For other podcast platforms, check out our links here.

S01E010: Kyle Yip is nearing the end of sixth form with his eye on studying Politics and Philosophy at Cardiff University. His aspirations are to become a politician and journalist in the future, breaking the cycle by representing British Chinese in these areas. 

He took part in the 2019 BBC Young Reporters Competition where he submitted a report investigating on exactly that: Why the British Chinese are underrepresented in Politics? It was broadcasted on BBC Radio 5 where he also got a chance to interview MP Alan Mak, the first person of Cantonese and East Asian origin to be elected to the House of Commons.  

In this episode, we explore the politics and journalism as well as Kyle's relationship with his own cultural identity. 

--- 

Timestamps

(00:55) Project for BBC 2019 Young Reporters Competition

(4:33) Reason for not doing Politics at A-Level

(20:03) Negative judgement for wanting to be journalist/politician

(22:52) Motivation for starting a political career

(23:41) What policies would you change if in power?

(25:34) Unaware of HK’s WW2 perspective

(27:09) Interest in war reporting

(31:04) Cultural conflict and identity crisis

(38:20) Identity make-up – values and principles

(40:25) Personal goals to achieve before one dies?

(41:45) Outro

---

Our Socials:

Email: [email protected]

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

For other podcast platforms, check out our link for other services at:

https://anchor.fm/the-open-door-uk

S01E09: Journalist and writer, Lu-Hai Liang, joins us for this conversation!

He has written for The Guardian, BBC News, New Statesman, The Atlantic, and many more. And in 2014, without securing an editorial commission, he travelled anyway to the hermetic and dangerous North Korea, to search for a story.

We explore his journalism background and, also, break down the concept of cultural identity.

Lu-Hai's writing: https://theluhai.com

Here is Lu-Hai's book recommendation: https://www.waterstones.com/book/nothing-to-envy/barbara-demick/9781847081414

---

Timestamps: 

(00:45) North Korean Trip

(6:22) Any dangers of returning to North Korea?

(11:27) Reflection of his own North Korean report

(13:46) Writing about Cultural Identity in the public and private sphere

(18:51) People asking us where we are from in our homes abroad

(28:17) “I travel to find myself” – our views towards this platitude of self-discovery

(32:30) Getting into Journalism

(40:49) Advice for aspiring journalists and writers

(44:13) Outro

---

Our Socials:

Email: [email protected]

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

For other podcast platforms, check out our link for other services at:

https://anchor.fm/the-open-door-uk

S01E08: Dr. Danlu Wang joins us for the eighth episode! For her PhD thesis she took her research to another level: she became her young British Chinese participants' Chinese teacher to not only gain access to the school she needed, but to bond with them on a deeper level to understand their lives and perspectives.  In this episode, we talk about how her cultural research and motherhood changed her own view of cultural identity.  

Timestamps:  (00:51) Western Media portrayal of China and its influence on identity (6:50) Defence mechanisms in school to avoid discrimination (10:03) School’s strategies to comfort ethnic minority children (14:38) Her children opening up (16:51) Motherhood and doctoral research: influences on Identity (25:47) The end goal of having an Identity (34:12) Differing factors in Identity formation (36:32) British Chinese subculture’s existence (49:26) Advice for younger British Chinese finding identity (51:01) Reflection 

---  

Dr. Danlu Wang's 2016 Thesis -  Imagining China and the Chinese: Cultural Identities of British Chinese Young People in and around London 

— 

Our Socials:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

For other podcast platforms, check out our link for other services at:

https://anchor.fm/the-open-door-uk

S01E07: We are joined by Dan Parsons. A British-Japanese composer that studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with Anthony. Since then he has moved to Osaka to teach English. He compares living in Japan with visiting there as a tourist, as well as making Japanese friends and his university experience.

Timestamps:

(00:37) Moving to Japan

(05:43) Sense of belonging in Japan

(10:08) Discrimination in the UK as mixed race

(14:24) How do you see your cultural identity? 

(23:54) The value of a university degree

(38:52) Wishing your parents pushed you harder 

(43:05) Moving back to the UK

(43:46) Advice for people emigrating to study or live

(45:17) Reflection

---

Dan’s Instagram

---

Our Socials:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

This episode is also available on YouTube

For other podcast platforms, check out our link for other services at:

https://anchor.fm/the-open-door-uk