Comedy Big League no laughing matter

Kim Young-hee(left) from tvN's "Comedy Big League" / Courtesy of tvN

By Ko Dong-hwan

After comedian Jang Dong-min was involved in controversy for mocking socially disadvantaged people on TV show "Comedy Big League," the program is drawing more criticism because of provocative jokes.

The anger has targeted the tvN program's episode of Apr 3.

In one segment, which parodied the cable network's popular drama series "Signal," comedienne Kim Young-hee wore a costume that had fake breasts to copy the bust of detective Cha Soo-hyun, the drama's female lead played by Kim Hye-soo.

Netizens said on the program's official site that the segment was uncomfortable to watch. When a fellow male comedian asked her, "Where should I look to know that you are Cha?" she pushed her fake breasts into his face, saying "Where should you look, indeed?"

Male comedians in the segment also mentioned Kim's fake breasts to make jokes in the PG-15 program.

Park Na-rae touches male co-star's body in a skit from "Comedy Big League."
/ Courtesy of tvN

In another segment, comedienne Park Na-rae portrayed a cop with a love interest in a male co-worker. She pressed his nipple underneath his T-shirt and grabbed his buttocks. This also sparked an angry response from viewers.

The program's site posted an apology for "Power of Chungcheong Province," the title of the segment starring Jang.

"All is the program's producers' fault," the statement said. "We also apologize to the actors who trusted the producers with their direction in the content of our program. We have shut down ‘Power of Chungcheong Province' as of this week. We promise to be more discreet in making healthy and funny comedy."

On Apr 7, a civic group promoting the rights of single-parent families sued the program's producers, tvN's executives, Jang and two other actors for making fun of divorced families.

"Jang's segment humiliated single-parent families and their children on an extreme level by publicly lampooning them," the group was quoted by the Seoul Economic Daily as saying. It said Jang's joke hurt 20 million people linked to family separation in Korea, where the divorce rate has reached 40 percent.

Jang Dong-min(right) from "Power of Chungcheong Province" in "Comedy Big League" / Courtesy of tvN

In "Power of Chungcheong Province" on Apr 3, Jang, 36, played a preschool boy. He sees one of his friends from a divorced family boasting about his new toy and asks: "Did your separated father send you money?" He went on with the joke, saying: "Fancy you. You receive birthday presents from two families. That's a good financial move."

Jang's joke did not end there, as he portrayed a child exposing his penis to his grandmother. It drew criticism that he had made fun of sexual molestation of children.

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