Rekindling heyday of stand-up comedy

Yoo Byung-jae speaks during his second standup comedy show “B's Joke” at Blue Square in Yongsan, Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of YG Entertainment

Yoo Byung-jae eager to shine in stand-up comedy

By Park Jin-hai

Yoo Byung-jae, though his TV appearances are not as frequent as those of other comedians, boasts strong fandom, in particular among the young and social media-smart generations.

The university drop-out and “SNL Korea” writer-turned-comedian is striving to revive the country's nearly banished stand-up comedy, which he says is “the one thing he has long dreamed of.”

“I'm very proud that I'm doing a stand-up comedy show in Korean,” said Yoo in a recent press conference prior to his standup comedy show “B's Joke,” which took place for three days from Friday.

“Unlike on TV, I can say whatever I want to during my standup comedy shows without worrying about broadcasting regulations. I would like to get to see them spontaneously performed and have them become part of a culture so that people can meet and enjoy them at pubs as well as at regular comedy shows,” he said explaining why he pays heed to reviving the genre that has not been considered mainstream in Korean entertainment.

In the late 1980s, comedians including Kim Byeong-jo, Ju Byeong-jin, the late Kim Hyung-gon and Johnny Yune drew popularity through their standup comedy shows. But, the late Kim whose comedy routine that depicted political figures and corruption put him under investigation by the national intelligence agency when President Chun Doo-hwan, who rose to power through a military coup was in power, while the Korean-American standup comedy show host Johnny Yune left his talk show in 1990 for limited freedom of expression. Slapstick and sitcoms took their place afterwards.

Yoo's latest show “B's Joke,” second after his previous standup comedy show “Black Comedy” in August last year, has attracted some 4,000 people in three days. Tickets for the show, priced from 77,000 won to 88,000 won, sold out in just one minute after tickets went on sale to the public.

“B” stands for both his name and something that is not considered mainstream.

The venue has been like a playground for young people. Outside the concert hall, people in their 20s and 30s were busy buying goods like sleeping masks printed in the actual size of Yoo's eyes and took photos wearing them. “Yoo's merchandise gains have drawn as much attention from fans as those of K-pop idols,” said an official of his agency YG Entertainment.

During an hour of his show, plus half an hour of a fan meeting-like Q&A session, Yoo expressed his criticism of politicians and made poignant puns on gender differences, cliches and controversies involving him.

Viewers' responses of his latest show have been mixed. Some say his black show has lacked the “black” part, and is a bit shallow and didn't reach the expectations to be labeled as “adult-only.” Others say that it should be worth seeing in that he is striving to revive the nearly dead genre of stand-up comedy.

The YouTube video clips for his previous show “Black Comedy” have garnered over 10 million views and his show has been titled “Too Much Information” and has been released through Netflix from March. He is the first Korean comedian performing a standup comedy special that has been released through the global video streaming giant. His latest show will also be released by Netflix later.

“It's definitely a good change for Korean comedians. In general, most stand-up material comes up as side stories during a variety show, and most Korean comedy relies on situations and set-ups instead of just pure storytelling,” a viewer who watched his Netflix show left in a comment online.

Experts say there is more than just catharsis of a black comedy that appeals strongly to youth.

Yoo has been doing various projects through his social network channels, constantly communicating with young people. Yoo, whose YouTube live channel has over 380,000 subscribers and over 630,000 Instagram followers, recently held an online Yoo Byung-jae portrait painting contest where some 4,300 portraits entered the competition picking up his trademark of bleached hair, mustache and yellow teeth. “Yoo tries to showcase various types of content via social media, and shows the importance of content,” said culture critic Kim Kyo-suk.