Saturday Night Live Korea is about to hit the air waves!

[loverboy.livejournal.com]

Cable channel tvN was one of the first cable channels to really step up its original drama programming to compete with the Big 3 broadcasters, and now it’s bringing the live sketch comedy format to Korea with Saturday Night Live Korea. Hosting the inaugural program tomorrow night (December 3) will be actor Kim Joo-hyuk (Fighting Spirit, Bang-ja Chronicles), featured in these promo stills, along with hip-hop artists Dynamic Duo as the musical guests.

It’s not a mere rip-off of the concept, but an actual extension of the SNL brand. I’m anticipating that it’ll be quite similar to the long-running American fixture, with its fixed cast, live broadcast, and format — celebrity host, opening monologue, sketches, and musical performers. Even the styling of the celebrity guest promos here closely resembles the stills in the American show.


Not gonna lie, I’m actually pretty excited about this. SNL has always been an uneven show, but it holds a special place in my heart. (For how many drunk/bored/insomniac college students does the show stir memories?) Granted, I haven’t seen the show in ages now, and even when I did it seemed like you always had to qualify the episode as, “Well, it used to be much better…” but there was usually one sketch that made it worth it. Like Canteen Boy, or Debbie Downer, or Alec Baldwin’s Scwheddy Balls, or Dick in a Box. And Weekend Update was always the highlight no matter the anchor, although Tina Fey will always be my favorite.

Granted, this show may be a monumental flop. Does the Korean sense of humor translate to the American-style sarcasm and satire? Will the monologues actually be witty? Will people break character and crack up, Jimmy Fallon style? Or will they be rock solid as in the days of Chevy Chase? Who knows? It’s a big question mark, and that makes me excited.



The SNLK crew boasts 16 members, some of them relative newbies and others being much more recognizable to frequent drama-watchers, like:

Jang Young-nam, the fabulous actress with equal command of comedy and drama (Hello Ghost, Vampire Prosecutor, Man of Honor) who will always be, in my mind, Crazy Wife from Dal Ja’s Spring;
Jung Woong-in, who was off-the-wall wacky as the persistent ex-fiance in Coffee House (also of Ojakkyo Brothers and Last Scandal of My Life;
and Lee Han-wi, from dozens of dramas and movies, among them the neurotic _ in Beethoven Virus, neighborhood ajusshi in Coffee Prince, and the plastic surgeon of 200 Pound Beauty (also: Baker King Kim Tak-gu, Chuno, Athena).

The show’s director is movie director Jang Jin of films Good Morning President and Public Enemy Returns. SNL Korea will air on Saturday nights on tvN at 11pm.



In order of the photos below, the SNL crew comprises:

Lee Han-wi,
Kim Won-hae (Sunny),
Jung Woong-in,
Jang Young-nam,
Lee Hae-young (Rude Miss Young-ae),
Lee Chul-min (Mr. Idol, On Air),
Lee Sang-hoon (Tree With Deep Roots, I Love You),
and Park Joon-seo (Strongest Chil Woo, theater production of Return To Hamlet).

And below:

Kim Ji-young (Good Morning President),
Kim Ji-kyung (Sunny),
MC/host Kim Bin-woo (Mom Is Pretty Too),
gag comedienne and host Ahn Young-mi (Comedy Big League, Infinity Girls),
Min Seo-hyun (On Air, Music Bank),
Han Seo-jin (Dream High, Queen of Reversals),
Go Kyung-pyo (Jungle Fish 2),
and Kim Seul-gi (theater production of Return To Hamlet).

Musical guests Dynamic Duo:



And host Kim Joo-hyuk:












sources: dramabeans & Sports Chosun

Comments

[aerialled.livejournal.com]

i have nothing to actually say but

[kanbinayume.livejournal.com]

STEFAN

[nellygea.livejournal.com]

OMG!!!! *O*!!!

He is my favorite >.

[bumie.livejournal.com]

this new channel is doing great and I like the cast

[mentality34.livejournal.com]

it's not really "new" lol it's been around for years

[bumie.livejournal.com]

i just start feeling it tbh lol

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

SNL sucks, this will be cringeworthy.

[saphbluedreams.livejournal.com]

(http://s1090.photobucket.com/albums/i378/umlikestuff/?action=view&current=ChangminEatingJoy.gif)



Whaaaaaaaaaaa~t?

[allthingsgood.livejournal.com]

LMAO this gif. what the eff is he eating?!

[rinn1e.livejournal.com]

"Does the Korean sense of humor translate to the American-style sarcasm and satire? Will the monologues actually be witty? Will people break character and crack up, Jimmy Fallon style? Or will they be rock solid as in the days of Chevy Chase? Who knows? It’s a big question mark, and that makes me excited."

I have the same question. Especially regarding them poking fun at politicians. Seeing how SK is very serious in sweeping certain problems under the rug and cover up for politicians. This will be interesting.

[baboboy.livejournal.com]

I miss debbie downer

[dorawa.livejournal.com]

the one with lilo is my favorite forever

[baboboy.livejournal.com]

"They never did catch that anthrax guy"

[dorawa.livejournal.com]

EXCITED

i don't really find the korean humor ~funny, like gag shows and some jokes on dramas and shit, BUT I WILL WATCH. it will only get better with time tbh

[uglypricetag.livejournal.com]

i'm anticipating this but i don't have any expectations. i feel like it kinda clashes with gag concert already. plus the actors there seem to have a better grasp of sketch comedies.

[uglypricetag.livejournal.com]

also, kim joohyuk looks ridic here. i prefer his normal, homely image.

[-ochre.livejournal.com]

yeah lol that oiled up beefcake image is unusual

[umbrella-smile.livejournal.com]

I rarely find Korean comedy shows funny, and aside from a couple cast members, SNL in the US hasn't been great. This one I'll skip...

[pon-pon-pink.livejournal.com]

ppl saying here "i don't get korean humour"...i mean yeah, you kinda have to grow up with the culture and everything to find it interesting and funny. I never got SNL either, and German and US culture are not THAT different in some aspects (and i do like a LOT of US comedies actually). It's not meant to be understood by everyone. It's like expecting people to understand all your inside jokes you have with friends @_@

[acornmama.livejournal.com]

I hope they are ready for what this really means. The original SNL crew (though they still use the phrase) was billed as "the not ready for prime time players"
Uninhibited political/cultural satire....again I hope they are ready for it.

[love-keiko.livejournal.com]

hmmm...netizens cant handle this.

assuming they're bold enough to criticize celebrities, idols, and politicians of course.

this is either going to be basic as fuck. or bold and entertaining.

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

Korea has done bold political satire before (The President's Last Bang/그때 그사람들), but not without controversy, so we'll have to wait and see how edgy this ends up being. At any rate, American SNL has gone so downhill, Korean SNL can't possibly be any worse.

[katiewenchh.livejournal.com]

hmmm. well i can't say i'm not interested.

[katiewenchh.livejournal.com]

will watch for dynamic duo at the least.

[brianathebard.livejournal.com]

idk I've never really found the typical korean/japanese humor funny, but that's probably why they're making separate ones. and idk why people are making comparisons with the us SNL and korean ones, i'm sure they're written by entirely different people referencing entirely different subject with different actors.

[allthingsgood.livejournal.com]

i'm excited for this but i honestly don't think it's gonna work. i'm sure it'll be tailored to fit korean humor and while the last couple of years of american snl have been weaksauce to say the best, i just don't think that zingy, critical humor works in korea. they can barely do gag concert without idols and their management flipping two shits when they're truly criticized, and i just don't see it working well in korea.

and i've watched some of snl japanese and it's just...really bizarre. not in the "i don't get japanese humor" kinda way, just that that american format doesn't fit well into japanese comedy?

but i'll be glad to eat my words if this turns out to be awesome. lord knows i just need more tv to watch -_-

[yunhalove.livejournal.com]

I caught a glimpse of it where they were doing a meta skit acting as though they were the scriptwriters before the first ep. One of them had written a political skit and was subsequently getting his ear chewed off for it by his boss LOLOLOLOLOL "but criticizing politics is a key element of the original SNL" "This is Korea, you stupid idiot!" so while they probably won't go all out spoofy/dressing up as candidates or anything I'm assured to know that there will be at least a couple albeit subtle references.

other than that you can very much tell they're still getting used to the format. i'm sure the whole show will get better with time once it finds its niche/groove.

[yunhalove.livejournal.com]

oh wait, scratch that- actually caught the full episode and the social commentary/political dissing was pretty blatant imo.

[the-erotomanic.livejournal.com]

that last pic i awesome.

isn't comedy a big deal in korea? it seems like comedians are the biggest moneymakers in korea. and they're very much revered. and a lot of wannabes seem to want to be comedians.

just going to echo some of the comments of the other people here. it's really not good to expect the korean snl to be the same as the u.s. one. they'll probably have the same format of having live sketches, pre-recorded ones, a guest host and a musical performance, but i think the humor will be very different and tailor-made for the korean audience. and obviously, a lot of the humor will be lost in translation and/or cultural, so it's probably not going to suit everyone's taste.