The New Hong Kong Underground

First-person reporting from inside the city's next generation of culture

Aug 11, 2026

∙ Paid

"Welcome.jpeg tasked me with writing the definitive “scene report” on Hong Kong, spotlighting some of the people and collectives behind the new wave of cultural innovation in the city. Around March this year, my friends and I had this unexplainable feeling that Hong Kong was “so back.” New projects were launching each week, and our calendars had never been more packed with parties, gallery openings, and events from brunchtime until four in the morning. What follows is an attempt to capture that new rush of creative energy. Huge thanks to Noah, the editor, and Welcome.jpeg for the trust."

- Patrick Kho

ORIENTATION: MÖTH AGENCY x Normie Corp event

Hong Kong is a poster child for cultural stagnation.

You can walk around the city and practically smell the rot: in nightclubs on the verge of collapse, resuscitated each weekend by bankers buying table service; in the expressions of cake-faced nepo babies, plastered on magazine covers littered around the city;…

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A guest post by

Patrick Kho

Reporting the business of subculture. Strategist at Adam Studios. Find me in Rolling Stone, Welcome.jpeg, and Rest of World.