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| Actress Shin Hae-sun in a scene from the comedy show "SNL Korea" / Screenshot from Coupang Play's YouTube channel |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The second season of the revived "Saturday Night Live (SNL) Korea" on Coupang Play has become an emerging platform for actors to perform hilarious comedy sketches and connect with wider audiences, as they face fewer opportunities to promote their work and themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In-person events, such as red carpets and post-film talk sessions, have been largely reduced, leading many to flock to popular YouTube channels or web shows to expand their reach to more viewers.
"Squid Game" star Heo Sung-tae will lead a Lunar New Year holiday special episode of SNL Korea that will include several sketches where he parodies some of the iconic characters he has played. The dramatic actor, known for playing mostly villains and gangsters in films like "The Outlaws" (2017) and "The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful" (2019), has promised to provide a side-splitting performance.
"It's an honor to be part of the SNL crew. I will do my best to bring laughter and comfort to viewers," he said in a statement.
Actress Shin Hae-sun hosted the season premiere, leaving a strong mark on the show by impersonating a teenager who maintains hair curlers in her bangs and uses slang. She ruled the show by performing hilarious skits with fellow actress Cha Chung-hwa. The video starring the lead actress of "Mr. Queen" surpassed 5.9 million views on YouTube as of Wednesday.
"Hae-sun is the queen of comedic acting! I hope she comes back to the small screen real soon," a viewer commented on YouTube, while another wrote, "She's so funny with her wig and rap. This is a different side of her. What a versatile actress!"
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| Actor Kang Ha-neul, second from right, in a scene from the comedy show "SNL Korea" / Courtesy of Coupang Play |
Recently, Kang Ha-neul propelled himself to further fame by hosting "SNL Korea," where his willingness to do anything for laughs endeared him to viewers. The talented actor parodied characters in foreign films "Death Note: Light Up the New World" (2016) and "Skyfall" (2012) as well as his own character Yong-sik in the drama "When the Camellia Blooms" (2019).
Kang said hosting the show was an enjoyable part of his career.
"It was really fun. I think the entire SNL crew are geniuses. Recently, I have been thinking a lot about performing on the live stage, and being on SNL felt like acting in a theatrical play without an audience," he told reporters in a recent interview.
"SNL Korea" also caught attention for a segment that interviews candidates of the 2022 presidential race, asking a few unarranged questions. It has featured interviews with Lee Jae-myung of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party and Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party.
According to mobile big data platform IGAWorks, the number of Coupang Play's monthly active users grew nearly six-fold to over 3 million in December, compared to 2020.
The Korean adaptation of the long-running U.S. comedy show debuted in 2011, and ran for nine seasons on tvN until 2017. In 2021, the local streaming service Coupang Play picked up the show for a reboot, which premiered on Sept. 4 as its first original comedy show. "SNL Korea" is available on Coupang Play every Saturday at 10 p.m.
