{"id":1806,"date":"2024-02-01T12:38:42","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T12:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.koktailmagazine.com\/?post_type=the-future-list&p=1806"},"modified":"2024-02-01T12:38:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T12:38:42","slug":"somchai-kwangtongpanich","status":"publish","type":"the-future-list","link":"https:\/\/www.koktailmagazine.com\/th\/the-future-list\/somchai-kwangtongpanich\/","title":{"rendered":"Somchai Kwangtongpanich"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somchai Kwangtongpanich a business owner- and an expert on the history of Bangkok\u2019s Chinatown.<\/h3>\n

Somchai Kwangtongpanich is a business owner in Bangkok’s iconic Chinatown. Somchai owns KONGKASEM (1959) CO LTD, a wholesaler of nets and ropes. On top of his successful business, Somchai is widely regarded as a community historian.<\/p>\n

Somchai, 60, grew up at a time when it wasn’t exactly cool to consider yourself a foreigner in Thailand.<\/p>\n

“At that period maybe Communist China was the enemy,” Somchai told Koktail. “I was born 60 years ago during the Vietnam war, the Cold War. The message we received from the media was that America loved Thailand, and I wanted to be American.”<\/p>\n

Somchai developed an interest in the history of his Chinatown community after his mother died. His mother’s death sent him on a path of rediscovering his Chinese culture and history, leading him to a new appreciation for his community’s history, as well as for how Chinese culture has helped him in business.<\/p>\n

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“Thirty years ago, I was 30, and at that time my mom passed away. So I tried my best to emulate everything in Chinese culture the same as her especially Chinese festivals.”<\/p>\n

Somchai dove deep into history by reading books and examining all kinds of documents, including old photos and maps comparing these to photos available online.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Somchai gave a talk at TedxBangkok arguing that anyone can be a historian.<\/p>\n

(Watch the video below to hear Somchai’s talk, with subtitles included.)<\/p>\n

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