{"id":48233,"date":"2026-06-26T10:21:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T02:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/?p=48233"},"modified":"2026-06-26T16:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T08:36:54","slug":"what-i-know-now-and-who-i-am-today-12-years-after-hku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/48233\/what-i-know-now-and-who-i-am-today-12-years-after-hku\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Know Now and Who I Am Today: 12 Years After HKU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Jung Soo Maeng (BA 2014)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jung Soo Maeng, originally from South Korea and raised in Shenzhen, studied English Studies and Journalism at The University of Hong Kong. She spent nine years at Bloomberg TV in HK producing global news programmes before joining Dulwich College Seoul. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum.<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

On the count of three, you may throw your caps proudly into the air!

It is more than a decade and yet it feels as if it were just a few days ago that I graduated first from high school and then from The University of Hong Kong.

Today, I watched the Class of 2026 graduate at my current workplace, an international school in Seoul, South Korea. As I sat through their Graduation Ceremony, memories of my own graduations came flooding back, a younger version of myself filled with excitement, uncertainty and hope before embarking on my journey at HKU and later the working world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My time at the School of English was shaped by many hours spent at the Main Library, tutorials in classrooms overlooking the courtyard of the Main Building, essay-writing sessions at the Centennial Campus, watching sunsets with friends from my dormitory on Sassoon Road, friendships formed across cultures, and countless moments exploring Hong Kong beyond the classroom.

What I learned in class, analysing literary excerpts and engaging in lively discussions on works such as The Critic as Artist by Oscar Wilde stayed with me far beyond university. Years later, those same critical thinking skills became invaluable and found real-time application in the newsroom at Bloomberg TV in Hong Kong, where I spent nine years producing live programmes covering Asian and global financial news. Little did I know that the tutorials and discussions at HKU would help shape the confidence and poise I needed as a young graduate entering a fast-paced newsroom. They taught me critical thinking and how to navigate complex stories across markets and geopolitics, while also reminding me to look beyond company headlines and the rise and fall of share prices to the human stories beneath.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working now at an international school has, in many ways, brought me back to the perspective of a student again. Watching students experience milestones, uncertainty and growth often takes me back to my own educational journey. The foundations built at HKU, together with my years at Bloomberg TV in Hong Kong, have shaped the perspective I carry with me today.

With time and distance, I have also come to appreciate my journey more clearly. While embracing my Korean identity and life in Seoul, I find myself reflecting on Hong Kong with a renewed sense of gratitude. The friendships I formed at HKU continue to keep me connected to the city, and the shared memories and familiar roads we once walked together only make those bonds even more precious. Sometimes, even a chance encounter with an admissions representative from my alma mater at work can feel like a small full-circle moment.

As my story continues to unfold, I remain deeply grateful for the education, experiences and people that have shaped who I am today.

This evening, as staff and families congratulate the Class of 2026 graduates over dinner on a beautiful, breezy night on a terrace in Seoul, one that reminded me so much of Hong Kong, I watched the graduates prepare to leave their nest, just as I did 12 years ago. And in that moment, I feel simply grateful and reminiscent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jung Soo Maeng (BA 2014) Jung Soo Maeng, originally from South Korea and raised in Shenzhen, studied English Studies and Journalism at The University of Hong Kong. She spent nine years at Bloomberg TV in HK producing global news programmes before joining Dulwich College Seoul. She is also a member of the World EconomicContinue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48233"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48233"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48353,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48233\/revisions\/48353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}