1989-2018

In memoriam of my late friend, Shane Kang.

Shane's life was tragically cut short on May 19, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia as a result of heartbreaking circumstances and his sudden passing has affected so many with indescribable devastation. We use this platform to collectively mourn, share the pain but also recognise the undeniably talented writer that Shane was, by sharing his stories and creative legacy. This appeal has been created to relieve Shane's only remaining relation - his brother, Shin Kang, from the financial burdens of this difficult time. It is with much gratitude that I ask you to please give what you can and share this campaign within your networks.

Shane Kang was a son, a brother and a friend.   

An excerpt from 'An Open Book: In Conversation with Shane Kang' by Caitlin Low

(Published in Issue 2 of Eyebag Magazine, November 2017, https://www.eyebagmag.com/)

"I was born in Seoul, South Korea. I grew up there until I was eight years old and I had no idea that my family was moving to Australia until the day I landed here. I knew the alphabet up to C. And I knew three words in English—cheeseburger, terminator and hello. I’m an immigrant. My parents, their philosophy in parenting was to throw me in the deep end. They didn’t baby me. So as soon as we got here, they put me in the nearest public school without any tutoring in English. This was in the mid-90s and it was very different then, especially in the Gold Coast, because I was the only Asian kid in the whole school. I have a really vivid memory of those first weeks, of not being able to communicate, and feeling almost like a zoo animal or a monkey. I had to make animal sounds out of my throat and point at things. I remember thinking I never ever want to feel like this again. There are certain moments that can change your entire life. And that first day at school, as someone who could not communicate as a human being to another human being, I know that was what led me to becoming a writer."

Shane Kang was many things but he was a writer, and an incredible one at that.

On 'Riptide Baby' :

"It's the best thing I've ever written... People find a connection when you talk about things as they are. That's the reason why I write, and I guess the reason why anyone creates anything, you know? What they're striving to do is to make a connection, try and strike a chord with people" (Shane Kang, 2016, https://soundcloud.com/blitz-unsw/the-interview-shane-kang)

An excerpt from 'People Exactly' by Shane Kang

I’ve only ever been good at one thing, but life isn’t it.

I think they call that a statement of irony—a literary device intended to sound right and wrong at the same time. I know that writing is just one part of life and can’t be separated from the whole that way.

…

It’s morning and I’m sitting next to mum, who’s laying on a slight incline in a hospital bed and staring at the ceiling. She doesn’t look at me because even if she did, she wouldn’t see anything. She’s been blind for a while now. Dad is sitting next to me without a word as usual, staring at the floor.

“How have you been, Alex?”
“I’ve been good,” I tell her.
“That’s good,” she says. “You have to stay positive.”
“I will... I have to be an ‘incurable optimist’, right? Your favourite title in the entire world?”

She smiles and closes her eyes.

She says, “A song came on the radio yesterday... It’s called ‘Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree’. It was our favourite song when I was about your age, your dad and me. That made me feel positive.”
I smile and say, “Can you sing it for me? I dunno who runs this place, but we need more entertainment around here.”

Mum laughs and shakes her head.

“Yeah, it would be entertainment if I started singing. It’d be that awful.”

She chuckles some more.

“Please,” I say. “The world needs this.”
“Don’t mock me.”

I smile again.

She says, “I’ll tell you the lyrics... If you want.”
“Okay...”
“It goes,

Tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the old oak tree
It’s been three long years
Do you still want me?
If I don’t see a ribbon ‘round the old oak tree
I’ll stay on the bus
Forget about us
Put the blame on me

If I don’t see a yellow ribbon ‘round the old oak tree...”

Silence.

I’m a really good silent-cryer now.

It’s always easier when you grit your teeth. But it’s the breathing afterwards that shits me. Like, with all the tears and snot and stuff in your sinuses. That’s the part you can’t do anything about.

Dad stands up and walks out of the room.

He’s not a good silent-cryer yet. He always cries outside.

...

I’m staring at a blank, white screen.

It’s my first day back in the Freebase office since mum passed away. I only took two weeks off because I needed to write. I’ve always felt that way, but I need it even more during the bad times. I told dad that I’d stay positive. The morning that she died, he said that he didn’t know if he’ll have any reason to stay in this world if I was to leave him too. So I’m not going anywhere.

I hear a knock and see Hannah standing at the doorway. She works too hard for an intern. It’s nine in the morning and she’s already making people feel better.

“Hey,” she says.
“Morning.”
“Um, I just wanted to let you know that if you need anything, I’m right outside... I moved my desk
to be closer.”

I don’t say anything and I can see the regret on her face. I should’ve said ‘thank you’ straight away. I’m not sure what I was thinking about.

“That was creepy wasn’t it...” she says. “I’m sorry.”
I laugh and say, “No, I wasn’t thinking that.”
“Oh, thank god.”
“Hey... Can you tell Paul I’ll have that story ready soon?”
“Okay. Yeah.”
“Thanks.”

Silence.

“Well then,” she says. “I’ll leave you to it...”
“Hannah?”
She turns back and says, “Yeah?”
“Do you think writers are good people?”

Silence.

Hannah thinks about it for a while.

“I think they’re the best and the worst people at the same time.”
“Why?”
“Because all people are. Writers just try to be honest about it... If they’re any good.”

I smile and repeat that in my head.

“Thanks,” I tell her.
“Anytime,” she says and leaves the doorway.

So I look back at the blank, white screen and like so many times before, I just start typing.

I write the opening line because every new story starts with one, and I have that wonderful feeling which so many people, who aren’t people exactly, have come to love for a long time before I started typing and will—for a long time after I’m done. It’s that feeling when you see a sentence, fifty centimetres in front of your face, that will carry you to the end.

“I’ve only ever been good at one thing, but I’m trying to get better at all the other things.”

"I'll tell you stories everyday"

1961-2013
1958-2017

1989-2018

Shane Kang - life lessons with a homeless man.

An excerpt from 'Children of Ghosts' by Shane Kang

(May 11th 2015, http://tcat.tc/1cIFVsV)

He said, “Everybody’s happy in heaven.” When I look back on that now, I don’t think he was talking about any religious idea of a paradise after death, but death in itself. I think for him, death meant a conclusion to the predictability of life. Not even the pain, because when I met him he was far beyond the capacity to even feel it anymore. But it was the predictability—born out of the truth—that for him, being alive always had and probably would have been devoid of happiness. I hope that if only for a speck in the timeline of his life, I was able to contribute a little bit of surprise. I think everyone longs for that.

We all share the same destination, but if there is an afterlife, I’ll most likely skip the buffet in the mansion to cook up Mi Goreng in the car park with my friend. But for now, I think I’ll keep looking. And not just in those places where we can see the beauty in the world, but in all the shadows where we can’t. Because it’s in the darkness that the smallest spark can seem like a beacon.

That might be the kind of lie we’ll be telling our kids one day. “Life is beautiful, no matter what.” But if we’re gonna believe anything, it might as well be this thing still beating in our chests. 

Shane Kang - his story.

 "I don't think that drug-use should ever be romanticised or normalised..." 

(Shane Kang, 2016, https://soundcloud.com/blitz-unsw/the-interview-shane-kang)

In an interview with UNSW, Shane expressed his thoughts on death: 

"Survivor's guilt is hell, especially when it's people you loved or cared about. I'll write about it to put them in a time capsule and share it, so the experience isn't lost... That's the way I deal with stuff - crystalise it in a story and put it out there for people to connect to and know" (Shane Kang, 2016, https://soundcloud.com/blitz-unsw/the-interview-shane-kang)

 This Pozible page was created in attempt to crystalise Shane's story. It hopes to shed some light on the risks involved with substance-abuse and raise awareness about the prevalence of mental illness in our communities. Shane was vocal about the support he received from Queensland Health and was fortunate to have a wonderful support network of friends and family. Though Shane's unexpected passing has left many stones unturned and questions unanswered, it reveals one truth - that the inner struggles of a person can never be fully understood by another. It is for these reasons and more that we are each responsible for spreading empathy and compassion to those around us, and kindness within ourselves. Life can be so fragile. May Shane's story serve as a reminder to us all.

Shane, you will always be remembered for your quirky sense of humour and of course, your words - words that have and will continue to move people to laughter and tears. Shane Kang - storyteller and "incurable optimist."

Rest In Peace

With gratitude and love,

Yena

1. This appeal has been created to relieve Shane's only remaining relation - his brother, Shin Kang, from the financial burdens of such an unexpected loss. In giving, we hope to be able to contribute towards funeral expenses.

2. Any funds raised in excess of projected funeral fees will go towards making Shane's book 'Riptide Baby' available for sale in retailers and bookstores across Australia as it is currently only available internationally via Amazon and similar online platforms.

3. Further funds raised will go towards securing the book publishing/intellectual property rights for all of Shane's stories in order to make them available to readers on a shareable online platform and/or in print format.

4. Any funds in excess of the above will be donated to Headspace - The National Youth Mental Health Foundation (https://headspace.org.au/get-involved/donate-now) and RUOK - a suicide prevention charity in Australia (https://www.ruok.org.au/donate)

Please give generously as Pozible is an 'all or nothing' crowdfunding platform which means that unless the funding target is reached, all previous pledges will become redundant.