Yoo Byung-jae isn’t the only person doing stand-up comedy in Korea. There are a bunch of others. We tracked down six and asked them how they started out and got where they are today.
Gang Seok-il (34, planning director at a content creation company, stand-up comedian)
1. How did you end up doing stand-up comedy?
My company decided to produce video content, and stand-up comedy was the least expensive since it only requires a script and no props (laughs). But most of all, I used to watch a lot of stand-up comedy on YouTube and I enjoyed it.
2. What topics do you like to talk about most?
Usually satire. I believe that satire is an inherent part of the term “comedy”.
3. What’s the most difficult aspect about performing?
The most difficult thing is writing the script. Being funny is the most important, but I also have to pay a lot of attention to being politically correct.
4. What keeps you going?
There’s a sense of thrill and release that comes from organizing my thoughts and talking about them.
5. What are your plans from here?
I would like to keep doing stand-up comedy about the things that I think are right or wrong and about my aspirations.
6. Anything you’d like to say to the readers of this article?
Korean people can come up with the wittiest things. So wait a bit, and you’ll get to see great stand-up comedians. I’ll do whatever I can to be one of them, so if you ever come across me, come hear me out.
Lee Ji-hyeon (28, professional stand-up comedian)
1. How did you end up doing stand-up comedy?
My dream was to be a comedian, so I studied a related major. After I finished my mandatory military service, I joined the Galgari Troupe in Daehak-ro, but then the troupe broke up unexpectedly. I waited to take the auditions at a broadcasting company, but there were no openings for comedians for two years. It felt like my chance was never going to come. Around that time, I went to see some stand-up comedy at Hongdae, and it was great. I wanted to be on stage, so I started right away.
2. What topics do you like to talk about most?
Funny anecdotes from my life and stories that people can relate to.
3. What’s the most difficult aspect about performing?
I used to perform skits with another person, like the Japanese manzai (comedy routine involving two people) “boke and tsukkomi (wise guy and straight man)” trope. But when you do stand-up comedy, you have to do it all by yourself. That kind of pressure makes it a bit difficult.
4. What keeps you going?
There are no restrictions. Many things are off-limits for comedy on TV, but stand-up is free from all that.
5. What are your plans from here?
I only get five minutes in performances, and I want to do it for longer. And honestly I would like to make money from this, at least enough to make a living.
Hwang Yun-seung (28, professional stand-up comedian)
1. How did you end up doing stand-up comedy?
I joined a comedy troupe immediately after I finished my military service, but it was very different from what I expected. And it was different from the way I made people laugh. Then I came across stand-up comedy, and it was completely my kind of comedy. So I quit the troupe and started doing this.
2. What topics do you like to talk about most?
I take funny things from daily life and turn them into comedy that other people can relate to.
3. What’s the most difficult aspect about performing?
It’s difficult to connect one story to the next and make them funny. And the pressure of being alone on stage.
4. What keeps you going?
The feeling I get when people laugh at my jokes feels more valuable than money.
5. What are your plans from here?
I would like to create a show with my own name. My ultimate goal is to go on a comedy tour around the world.
6. Anything you’d like to say to the readers of this article?
I heard that in the United States, people go to stand-up comedy clubs like how Koreans go to bars. I would like to develop that kind of culture in Korea.
Son Dong-hun (27, professional stand-up comedian)
1. How did you end up doing stand-up comedy?
As a viewer, comedy skits and comedy TV shows grew boring. I looked up a few stand-up comedy videos online, and they had a lot of views and young people liked them. So I decided to try it.
2. What topics do you like to talk about most?
Sex, which everyone likes. And also religion and politics.
3. What’s the most difficult aspect about performing?
The burden of doing everything alone on stage. And people’s reactions. Sometimes in the parts I think are funny, people don’t even laugh; and other times, I just say something and people burst into laughter. It’s really hard to predict that.
4. What keeps you going?
The culture of respecting people’s individuality, unlike in skits. And I also like that the audience, and not the broadcasting company, decides what is funny and what isn’t.
5. What are your plans from here?
In the United States, famous stand-up comedians go on national tours. I would like to do that in Korea. In the long term, I want to open a lot of stand-up comedy clubs here.
6. Anything you’d like to say to the readers of this article?
Please share this article and come to my shows.
Han Gi-myeong (25, actor and stand-up comedian)
1. How did you end up doing stand-up comedy?
When I was seven, I got in a car accident and was in a coma for half a year. I watched Gag Concert while I was in the hospital, and I decided to get a job where I could make people laugh and warm their hearts. And now I’m a stand-up comedian.
2. What topics do you like to talk about most?
I use my disability. I talk about things related to disability.
3. What’s the most difficult aspect about performing?
Writing a script is the hardest part. Since the topic I deal with is unique, I think a lot about how to talk about it naturally.
4. What keeps you going?
To realize my dream—the dream of being the first disabled stand-up comedian in Korea.
5. What are your plans from here?
Sometime in October this year, I want to do stand-up comedy on the streets, for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Anything you’d like to say to the readers of this article?
When people with a disability do something, many people seem to think, “Can they do it? How can they do it?” Older people, in particular. I would like them to come and watch me first.
Hong Su-min (21, professional stand-up comedian)
1. How did you end up doing stand-up comedy?
I prepared for comedy auditions all through high school. Then it seemed like people were getting tired of skit-based comedy, and I thought that it would disappear soon. And by chance, I came across stand-up. It was like I’d won the lottery. So I started right away.
2. What topics do you like to talk about most?
I talk a lot about the world from the perspective of someone who just started out in the real world. Things that people probably have experienced at least once in their lives. I talk about the world from the perspective of someone in their 20s.
3. What’s the most difficult aspect about performing?
The thought that I’m not as good as other people. I feel pressured to see more, experience more, and study more.
4. What keeps you going?
There are two different classes of comedians—comedians and aspiring comedians. But the only difference among stand-up comedians is whether you’re famous or not. There’s no hierarchy or class. We’re all colleagues.
5. What are your plans from here?
I’m preparing an hour-long performance in August. As a more long-term goal, I want to host or emcee a famous talk show.
6. Anything you’d like to say to the readers of this article?
I think the stand-up culture is becoming more established in Korea. I’m going to work hard at it, so I’d appreciate everyone’s support.