Jakarta, IO – Ding Kok, 72, realizes that Shin Hua, a barbershop that his father built in 1911 will be history, sooner or later as more modern barbershops sprung up. “Maybe in less than ten years, when my life ends, Shin Hua will also end,” said the old man who is popularly known as Om Edi, per The Jakarta Post, Saturday (22/7).
Edi is Shin Hua’s second generation owner. He started running the barbershop located in the city’s Chinatown, Kembang Jepun Surabaya, in 1965. At the time, he had just graduated from junior high school. He had to forego his dream of continuing his education because the New Order regime shut down all schools affiliated with the Chinese community.
Little Edi initially wanted to be a doctor. However, life as a minority made it difficult. Edi has no choice but to continue his father’s business.
“You could say I was forced to become a barber. I had no choice,” Edi lamented. “For those who are rich, they can easily study abroad. But not for me. I have to take care of my father. So, the first time I was asked to cut my hair, I cried. I mourned my fate, why is it so tough for minorities.”
Shin Hua means “new bloom”. This name was chosen by Edi’s father in the hope that the spirit would never fade and continue to bloom like flower in spring. From the 1960s to 2000s, the barbershops was renowned among the people of Surabaya.
In its heyday, Shin Hua could serve at least a hundred customers. They came to have their hair styled to the latest trend. However, those glorious years passed and one by one the customers started to leave.