“What do we have to do to become a member of the National Assembly? It is not as difficult as it looks. During the period of political campaigns, we should stop by the traditional markets and eat the boiled rice served in soup at a table and shake hands with the old. It is not difficult to address the highlights of our campaign. We just say “If I am elected, I will build a new bridge and a subway station.”
Last year, on October 2nd, ‘Choi Hyo-jong’, a famous comedian, satirized members of the National Assembly in a corner named ‘Mantis Kindergarten’ in ‘GAG Concert’. The next month, on November 17th, Gang Yong-suk accused him of disrespecting the National Assembly. Since then, some ‘GAG Concert’ corners satirized Gang as their comedy material. Namely, they took revenge on him.
These days, in many comedy programs, comedians bet their lives when criticizing our society as well as politicians. The trend does not stop there. In ’Comedy Big league’ of ’tvN’, broadcasting company, ‘An Yeong-mi’ referred to the latest problem about the ‘North Face’ jumper, and ‘Jung Joo-lee’ did a parody of Han Ye-seul’s boycotting. (Han was the main character of KBS drama ’Spy Myung-wol’, but she grew impatient of the working environment and went to the US unexpectedly). Jung said, ”I am irritated, so I cannot play this drama anymore. I want to go back to Thailand!” Like this, comedians take advantage of specific people as well as events taking place in Korea and use it in their comedy shows.
Public opinion
Many viewers favor satirical comedy, especially those that criticize society.
Gag can turn heavy things into light things. In other words, it sublimates a heavy issue in gag.
For example, ‘Mantis Kindergarten’ is a corner that represents this characteristic. The thing we should focus on is the place, kindergarten. It is a place that children come out in society and are taught many things by their surroundings. In a place where kindergarteners are supposed to be learning ethics, personal values, and the way to survive in society, a teacher named ’Il Soo KKun is trying to teach children (who basically have no background knowledge whatsoever) that the difficulties everyone knows apart from themselves are easy to face.
Comedy programs tell something that most people dare not say openly in the media, being heavily censored. In the case of ‘Infinite Challenge’, it was warned nine times from Korea Communications Commission. Broadcasting is more heavily censored than any other media. For instance, if a radio DJ says something wrong, he/she will have to resign the next day. In the present situation, today’s comedians criticizing specific people like generals and politicians are, truthfully put, preparing their resignation. Viewers might think “Those comedians will be at risk,” but they keep watching the programs. The public can feel a sense of satisfaction.
Some people object to be this trend.
Inordinate criticism and satire can harm a person’s reputation, and it could in fact be a crime. Furthermore, considering the problem as a small part of society is wrong, because comedians’ accusations have the power to influence whole societies. Also, though there is an age limit, children can watch it and have improper impression about society that they have not lived in yet. So programs should be recalibrated, if necessary.
Gags deal with current events, but most of it is connected with political things. For instance, there were price issues dealing with KBS ’GAG Concert’, SNS law issue of government in ‘Gag Tonight’, and DDOS issue in Cheongwadae in MBC ’Laughing and Laughing’. The reason why comedians try to deal with these problems might be that they want people to think about the problem again and want society to change in the right direction.
Should comedy shows dealing with current issues continue? These gags do not just end as one burst of laugh. Like the movie ‘Dogani’, it has created a social sensation. Therefore, cultural contents do not just end as culture contents in these days.
Despite the fact that ‘Gag Tonight’ airs at midnight, it displayed average viewer ratings of about 8%. By handling the incendiary matters, viewer ratings have continued to rise. Though, by all politicians of integrity and no integrity being criticized, comedians’ criticism will damage politicians’ heavy image and drag their position down. Gag should serve to awaken the politicians and society, but to simply use it in comedy does not mean anything at all. Thus, some criticism of the proper regulation balance in comedy could be worthwhile.
Park Jung-hee
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