'Comedy Short League' Woo Seung-ja (황제)Sung: "Hong Hye-geol Motive='Ultra-Low-Cost Real Estate Broker' Character.. Attempting American Comedy Chemistry" [Interview ③]

*This content was translated by AI.

Comedian Hwang Je-seong announced that he has newly presented a character in 'Comedy Short League' (hereinafter 'Co-Short') inspired by broadcaster Hong Hye-geol, who was formerly a medical reporter.

On the afternoon of the 21st, at the CJ ENM Center in Sangam-san-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, StarNews conducted an interview with Kim Min-kyung PD of the TVING variety show 'Comedy Short League' and Hwang Je-seong of the winning team 'Hwang-Salt (Hwang Je-seong, Seol Myeong-geun)'.

'Comedy Short League' is Korea's first participatory short-form comedy league on an OTT platform. It is a survival competition where multiple comedians gather to create powerful laughter within just 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Over 12 weeks, the comedians uploaded a total of 192 shorts, with rankings determined by views, likes, and votes from users of the TVING app.

'Co-Short' featured a total of 15 teams: five major teams—Yongho Sangbak (Lee Yong-jin, Nam Ho-yeon), Hwang-Salt (Hwang Je-seong, Seol Myeong-geun), Bread-Short-Guk (Kwak Beom, Lee Chang-ho), 150 Seconds (Im Woo-il, Lee Seung-hwan, Hong Ye-seul), and Comedians (Yoon Seung, Park Min-seong)—and ten Maiter teams. Hwang-Salt, which won the double crown in Season 6, secured the final championship after a cumulative 12-week run starting June 1, becoming the producer of the TVING original solo comedy show as the winning reward.

Hwang-Salt recorded five consecutive weeks at number one for the first time in the program's history, centering on their powerful character 'Johnson Hwang,' an Interpol police officer, and quickly took the lead in the overall championship race. Bread-Short-Guk finished second, Han Tae-su third, while 150 Seconds and Comedians claimed fourth and fifth places respectively, completing the season's final top five ranking list.

'Co-Short' special episode 'Comedy Short League Alumni Association' will be released on TVING at 6 p.m. on October 2.

-Did you feel like you discovered new talent through 'Co-Short'?

▶PD Kim: Newcomers such as Han Tae-su were discovered. Personally, I think it was a meaningful time for us. Since we each filmed our own shorts, there wasn't much interaction between seniors and juniors, but seeing the final results allowed us to communicate.

-If there's a new talent you'd like to introduce in the next season of 'Co-Short'?

▶PD Kim: I want to work with Je-seong again. (laughs)

▶Hwang Je-seong: Filming for 16 hours under the scorching sun was not easy. Haven't comedy recruitment exams disappeared? Many people are doing gags through YouTube, but comedy is not 'solo play.' This program has the advantage of gathering those who were doing solo play. There's one person I'd recommend—a 'Noldukkeukeu' (someone with old-school sensibility)—I want to bring in Moon Se-yoon. I also personally follow the YouTuber 'Hunter Pop,' so I'd like to invite him.

-What do you think is Hwang Je-seong's greatest strength as a comedian?

▶Hwang Je-seong: I am someone who loves fun the most. The reason I became a comedian is because I enjoy my own gags and want others to like them too.

▶PD Kim: What the production team sees as Hwang Je-seong's strength is, 'Is there any Korean comedian who can make people laugh with just facial expressions without any dialogue?' Hwang Je-seong is 'Korea's Mr. Bean.'

-Which team did you find most challenging in 'Co-Short'?

▶Hwang Je-seong: Han Tae-su. I didn't know him before, but once he appeared, chaos erupted among the major teams. I wanted to be in such a situation, and that's when I started paying close attention to Han Tae-su. It was a major crisis in my life.

-The new character 'Ultra-Low-Cost Real Estate Broker' you presented in 'Co-Short' was personally amusing. Do you plan to show this character again in the next season?

▶Hwang Je-seong: That character was inspired by Hong Hye-geol. It's a character I wanted to present. I enjoy American comedy chemistry and wanted to convey that kind of feeling.

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*This content was translated by AI.