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Koreabound2004
Joined: 19 Nov 2003
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 Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:20 pm Post subject: KBS comedy about worker from Bangladesh |
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My coteacher was talking to his students about it today while I was in class with him(supposed to be team teaching)....of course he was speaking in Korean and the students were all roaring with laughter.
He said to me "We are now talking about a comedy on KBS. There is a man named Blanka and he is a worker from Bangladesh in Korea...." He then said, "I don't think you can understand what I am saying." WELL DUH! Of course I don't understand if you are speaking in Korean....
This is being done during our "English" lesson BTW. He always does this, while I am in class with him...he starts telling stories in Korean while I stand there like an idiot waiting to assist him with his "lesson." I think it's rather rude......but that's beside the point.
Anyway, has anyone seen this show on KBS? I am curious to know what they were talking about. I am sure they were making fun of the worker somehow...  |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah. I've seen it. I can't understand much of what he says but a K-teacher told me he's a Korean comedian acting a Bangladeshi worker who is befuddled by quirky Korean habits.
If I trust her summary then I think it's maybe a harmless lampooning of Korean culture but I'm not so sure....... |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
Yeah. I've seen it. I can't understand much of what he says but a K-teacher told me he's a Korean comedian acting a Bangladeshi worker who is befuddled by quirky Korean habits.
If I trust her summary then I think it's maybe a harmless lampooning of Korean culture but I'm not so sure....... |
When is it on and what station? I'd like to see that! |
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Teufelswacht
Joined: 06 Sep 2004
Location: Land Of The Not Quite Right
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| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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I can't find it now, but about 2 weeks ago I read something in one of the newspapers that they were going to cut that show. The reason was the rising number of complaints about the show from certain embassies and migrant workers groups.
While Koreans think it was great fun, and KBS I believe initially resisted calls to can the show, the workers and their governments considered it extremely racist and condescending. I believe the actor/performer was even going to volunteer to play a game of soccer or something like that with the workers (woooohoooo!!!) in order to show he wasn't a racist.
I will continue to try to find the story to post up here.
Take care
Teufelswacht |
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Teufelswacht
Joined: 06 Sep 2004
Location: Land Of The Not Quite Right
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| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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Found it.
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Hankooki.com > Korea Times > Search
Popular TV Comedy Skit About Migrant Worker Comes to End
By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter
A popular TV comedy skit featuring the character of a Sri Lankan migrant worker will be laid to rest on Monday, its creator said.
From February of last year, comedian Jung Chul-kyu was portraying Blanca, a Sri Lankan migrant worker, in a five-minute skit on the KBS weekly variety show, ``Laughter Club.���� In the skit, titled ``What on Earth Is This!,���� Jung uses word play and acts out funny episodes that stem from cultural differences.
Earlier days, the skit also satirized Korean employers ill-treatment of foreign workers, including problems with back pay and sexual harassment.
At some point in the skit, Jung would deliver the line ``My boss is bad,���� in slow and awkward Korean, drawing immediate laughter from the audience. The line, along with the skit, became a huge hit last year, with video files of the show being distributed illegally among Internet users. Last December, the 25-year-old comedian won the KBS rookie-of-the-year award.
However, the skit also drew its share of criticism. Presidents of Korean firms employing migrant workers protested to the network about how Jung negatively portrays them. Also, in the third week of the skit, Blanca began talking about his Korean wife Bong-suk and the funny misunderstandings between them. This led to women named Bong-suk and their mothers across the nation calling KBS to complain.
But on Aug. 26, the Sri Lankan Embassy joined in the fray. It sent an official document to KBS requesting it adjust the program��s content a little, claiming the program could adversely influence Sri Lankan workers�� employability with Korean companies. ``Sri Lankan people are very disciplined, hard working and obedient. They are not like the character Blanca in the comedy program, always complaining about his boss,���� G. Wijayasiri, Sri Lankan ambassador to Korea, told The Korea Times in October. KBS did not respond to the viewers saying that a change was ``unnecessary����.
Despite Jung��s intention to help the socially disadvantaged migrant workers through his comedy, he failed to actually increase the position of foreign people working here, said Kim Heoun-sic, a pop culture critic.
``The show did not reveal contradictions and inequalities in the relationship between Korean employers and migrant laborers, nor the human rights abuses laborers in Korean companies endure, which are the core issues regarding migrant workers here,���� Kim said. ``The program at first gained popularity not because it satirized the hypocrisy of Koreans toward foreign laborers, but because it simply blamed the bosses of the companies.����
Kim criticized the program for making fun of Sri Lankan laborers, saying that Blanca��s absurd facial expressions, slow pronunciation, and out-dated clothes in fact reflect Jung��s own prejudices against Sri Lankan people.
However, Jung said that it does not degrade Sri Lankan workers, that such a portrayal of a Sri Lankan worker is part of what comedy is all about. It was necessary to make people laugh.
``It is such a misunderstanding. I never intended to make fun of Sri Lankan workers,���� Jung said in a phone interview Friday. ``By playing the role of Blanca, I wanted to show the difficulties workers face while living in Korea and create a friendly image of migrant workers in Korea. I still believe I contributed to increasing Korean people��s interest and awareness on the conditions of migrant workers in Korea.����
Jung said the idea for the skit came while he was doing substitute work for mandatory military service. During that time, he worked with foreign workers for three years. Jung realized Koreans were more ignorant of people from Southeast Asian countries than people from Western countries and decided to make a satirical comedy aimed at enhancing Koreans�� awareness, he said.
Jung said he regularly visits the Seoul Migrant Workers Center and has been maintaining relationships with migrant workers, often playing soccer with them. In January, Jung also went to Sri Lanka with a KBS crew on the request of a Sri Lankan migrant in Korea to report on the devastation the country suffered during the tsunami disaster.
Jung said he did not feel there was any animosity between he and the Sri Lankan Embassy over to the embassy��s protest regarding the skit in August.
``That was just a small mild appeal, different from what the Korean media described as a document asking for complete withdrawal of the program,���� Jung said. ``The Korean media blew things out of proportion.
``Although I stop the role of Sri Lankan worker, I will continue to do satires and volunteer activities aimed at helping the socially disadvantaged.��
In fact, the Sri Lankan Embassy recently offered Jung the post of founding member of the Korea-Sri Lankan Friendship Association, to be launched March 25. Jung and his manager have yet to make a firm commitment to the association.
``Laughter Club���� airs at 11 p.m. on Mondays.
[email protected]
03-13-2005 19:43
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Rereading the story, looks like I got some of my facts wrong in my first posting. Oh well. |
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TheMrCul
Joined: 09 May 2003
Location: Korea, finally...
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:31 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| However, the skit also drew its share of criticism. Presidents of Korean firms employing migrant workers protested to the network about how Jung negatively portrays them. Also, in the third week of the skit, Blanca began talking about his Korean wife Bong-suk and the funny misunderstandings between them. This led to women named Bong-suk and their mothers across the nation calling KBS to complain. |
Seriously
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| ``The program at first gained popularity not because it satirized the hypocrisy of Koreans toward foreign laborers, but because it simply blamed the bosses of the companies.���� |
Which is probably right.
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| ``Sri Lankan people are very disciplined, hard working and obedient. They are not like the character Blanca in the comedy program, always complaining about his boss,���� |
Yep, every last one of them.  |
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Neil
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Location: Tokyo
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 12:07 am Post subject: |
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| Blanca began talking about his Korean wife Bong-suk and the funny misunderstandings between them. This led to women named Bong-suk and their mothers across the nation calling KBS to complain |
These women should change their name to Max Power. |
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