What is Klinik Tong Fang?

Klinik Tong Fang is an Indonesian exploitable catchphrase that parodies the suspect testimonial format used in a real Jakarta clinic's TV ads, with the line 'Dulu saya X. Tetapi setelah ke klinik Tong Fang, saya jadi X'.

Where did Klinik Tong Fang come from?

The joke grew out of Klinik Tong Fang's 2011 to 2012 Indonesian television ads, which Indonesian regulators sanctioned on August 14, 2012 for violating broadcasting ethics on health advertising.

What does Klinik Tong Fang mean?

In meme usage, it mocks the ad's structure by letting posters swap in any absurd before-and-after claim about visiting the clinic, usually paired with a still from the commercial.

How do you use Klinik Tong Fang?

Start with 'Dulu saya' and a condition, then follow with 'Tetapi setelah ke klinik Tong Fang, saya jadi' plus an outcome that undercuts or absurdly repeats the first clause.

Is Klinik Tong Fang still popular?

It is a classic Indonesian meme from 2012 that dominated Kaskus threads and YouTube parodies at the time, with the Hitler Reacts parody alone passing 46,400 views within two years.

Klinik Tong Fang

2012catchphraseclassic

Published November 3, 2026

Klinik Tong Fang is an Indonesian exploitable catchphrase mocking a Jakarta traditional medicine clinic whose 2012 television commercials used suspect patient testimonials. Indonesian users seized on the ad's format, swapping absurd before-and-after claims into the line 'Dulu saya X. Tetapi setelah ke klinik Tong Fang, saya jadi X.' By late 2012, image macros of the joke filled Kaskus threads and spawned a Hitler Reacts parody on YouTube.

indonesian memes snowclone memes advertising memes catchphrase memes forum era memes

Overview

Klinik Tong Fang jokes follow a strict fill-in-the-blank template taken straight from the clinic's TV spots: 'Dulu saya X. Tetapi setelah ke klinik Tong Fang, saya jadi X' ('I used to be X. But after going to Tong Fang Clinic, I became X')1. The humor comes from pairing a mundane complaint with an unrelated or nonsensical outcome, so a poster might claim they were poor and became even poorer, or that they were a man and left as a different man entirely2.

Most early entries circulated as image macros built around stills of the ad's smiling testimonial actors, with the swapped caption slapped over the original pitch1. Indonesian forum users treated the format as a group writing exercise, piling up variations in long Kaskus threads where each reply tried to top the last with a stranger absurdity2.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Indonesian television (catalyst) / Meme Generator and Kaskus (viral spread)

Date

2012

Klinik Tong Fang began operating in Jakarta around 2010 and started running Indonesian television commercials between 2011 and 2012 featuring supposed patient testimonials about cured illnesses3. The ads drew heavy criticism for violating Indonesian broadcasting ethics rules on health advertising, and on August 14, 2012, the North Jakarta Public Health Office sanctioned the clinic for breaching regulations on publicizing health services and traditional medicine (translated from Indonesian)3.

The earliest documented meme version appeared on July 17, 2012, when a Klinik Tong Fang image macro was uploaded to Meme Generator1. Within weeks the format jumped to Kaskus, Indonesia's largest internet forum, where users rewrote the testimonial line into increasingly ridiculous variations2.

How It Spread

Kaskus did most of the heavy lifting. On August 3, 2012, a thread titled '[NGAKAK PIC+] Serba KLINIK TONG FANG' collected image macros of the joke and drew 466 posts over the following two years2. A second compilation thread, 'Kumpulan Lelucon Kalimat Iklan Klinik Tong Fang,' went up on August 9, 2012 and picked up 106 replies4.

From there the joke spilled into Indonesian wiki culture and video. On August 22, 2012, Tolololpedia, an Indonesian parody wiki modeled on Encyclopedia Dramatica, added an entry for the clinic1. YouTuber Daniel Pories uploaded a Hitler Reacts parody on September 7, 2012 that imagined Hitler ranting about the ads, and the video passed 46,400 views within two years5.

Mainstream coverage of the controversy fed the joke: Tempo reported on the Public Health Office sanction the same week that image macros were multiplying on Kaskus, giving Indonesian netizens a steady feed of fresh material to parody3.

Timeline

2010

Klinik Tong Fang starts operating in Jakarta.

2012-07-17

An early Klinik Tong Fang image macro is uploaded to Meme Generator.

2012-08-03

Kaskus thread '[NGAKAK PIC+] Serba KLINIK TONG FANG' is posted and gathers hundreds of image macros.

2012-08-09

A second Kaskus compilation, 'Kumpulan Lelucon Kalimat Iklan Klinik Tong Fang,' is posted.

2012-08-14

The North Jakarta Public Health Office sanctions Klinik Tong Fang for breaching Indonesian health advertising rules.

2012-08-22

Tolololpedia adds a parody entry for Klinik Tong Fang.

2012-09-07

YouTuber Daniel Pories uploads a Hitler Reacts parody about the clinic.

How to Use This Meme

The common convention is to open with 'Dulu saya' plus a condition, state 'Tetapi setelah ke klinik Tong Fang, saya jadi' and then finish with a punchline that undercuts the first clause. Posters typically pair the caption with a frame from the original ad or a photo of the person being joked about1.