Comedian Kim Dong-ha set for 1st Japan solo show
Comedian Kim Dong-ha / Captured from Kim's Instagram account
Poster for Kim Dong-ha's solo stand-up show "Oishii" in Osaka, Japan / Courtesy of Meta Comedy
Comedian Kim Dong-ha will hold his first solo stand-up comedy show in Japan next month, becoming the first Korean stand-up comedian to stage an individual live performance there, his agency, Meta Comedy, said Wednesday.
Titled “Kim Dong-ha: Oishii Stand-up Comedy Live,” the show will take place at 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the fifth-floor auditorium of Mindan Osaka.
The title, “Oishii,” means “delicious” in Japanese. The show is expected to combine Kim’s observational humor about everyday life with sharp satire and spontaneous exchanges with audiences. Korean is expected to be the main language, targeting an audience of Korean-speaking Japanese and Korean immigrants.
Korean comedians have increasingly performed solo shows outside Korea recently, performing in the Korean language.
Japan has long been regarded by Korean comedians and audiences as a more mature comedy market. Japanese variety-show formats, sketch traditions and performance styles had an influence on the development of modern Korean comedy.
The Osaka performance follows Kim’s North American tour, “Made in Korea,” which took place in Washington, D.C., Toronto and Vancouver in April. The performances were conducted entirely in Korean and drew on topics including immigrant life, cultural differences, dating and marriage.
Kim debuted in 2018 through “Stand-up Comedy Stage 6,” a live show that brought together six comedians at Comedy Haven in Seoul’s Gangnam district. He built up experience through individual shows and a nationwide tour “Life Goes On" before going abroad.
Videos featuring the comedian on YouTube and social media platforms have accumulated more than 300 million views, according to Meta Comedy.