'Comedy Short League' PD and Hwang Je-seong: "In an era of many controversies, it's hard to do comedy... We won't make jokes that harm anyone" [Interview ②]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Min-kyung PD and comedian Hwang Je-seong expressed the difficulties of creating comedy in an era filled with controversies.

On the afternoon of the 21st, at the CJ ENM Center in Sangam-san-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Kim Min-kyung PD of TVING's variety show 'Comedy Short League' (hereinafter referred to as 'Co-short') and Hwang Je-seong from the winning team 'Hwang-saltang (Hwang Je-seong, Seol Myeong-geun)' met with StarNews for an interview.

'Comedy Short League' is TVING's first domestic OTT participatory short-form comedy league, a survival competition where multiple comedians gather in one place and compete to create powerful laughter within just 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The comedians uploaded a total of 192 shorts over 12 weeks, with rankings determined by views, likes, and votes from TVING app users.

'Co-short' featured a total of 15 teams: five major teams—Yong-ho-sang-bak (Lee Yong-jin, Nam Ho-yeon), Hwang-saltang (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-sung)—and ten minor teams. Hwang-saltang, who won the double crown in Season 6, secured the final championship after a 12-week cumulative result starting from June 1, becoming the producer of TVING's original standalone comedy show as the winning reward.

Hwang-saltang led the competition early by recording five consecutive weeks at number one for the first time in the program's history, centered around their strong character 'Johnson Hwang,' an Interpol police officer. Bread-short-guk took second place, Han Tae-su third, while 150 Seconds and Comedians finished fourth and fifth respectively, completing the final TOP 5 ranking table of the season.

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

-It feels like 'Co-short's' comedy style targets only the MZ generation. Is it difficult to create jokes that can be enjoyed by various generations?

▶Hwang Je-seong: I think this is a task we must solve forever. When voting, older people tend not to participate as much, and from our perspective as competitors in a competitive environment, it's not easy.

▶PD Kim: I thought that the content I liked, such as 'Kaps,' had an older demographic. Instead, I wondered if the major teams were performing familiar comedy styles. People may have different perspectives on this.

-Which 'Co-short' content generated the most buzz?

▶PD Kim: Content like 'Barbershop' received significant attention. View counts varied depending on age groups and platform consumption layers.

-Since you're creating shorts based on a broadcasting station's framework, there must have been adjustments to avoid overly provocative elements.

▶PD Kim: As a broadcasting station, we had to make adjustments. We also believed it was right to show content that is comfortable for viewers. With 'Co-short,' we wanted diverse people to watch our content regardless of algorithms.

-Do you think viewer engagement has been effective to some extent?

▶PD Kim: There was buzz on Instagram and YouTube, but the effect seemed less pronounced on TVING. This might be because TVING previously lacked a visible comment feature. Instagram and YouTube audiences are generally younger and more active.

▶Hwang Je-seong: At first, there were only four comments. But when we moved to Instagram, the reactions were huge. Bread-song-guk and Han Tae-su also had good effects. I think it was partly due to the production team's promotion at that time. (laughs)

-Given the current era filled with controversies, don't you feel it's difficult to create comedy?

▶Hwang Je-seong: We can walk a fine line, but we believe we shouldn't cross it. If there's no justification, we won't make jokes that harm anyone. I personally enjoy self-deprecating humor the most because I worry some viewers might feel uncomfortable. Preferences also vary by age and gender.

-How will the 'Comedy Alumni Reunion' be conducted?

▶PD Kim: Led by first-place winner Hwang Je-seong, all former participants of 'Co-short' will gather. It will be a mock celebration mocking the champion while sharing behind-the-scenes stories from 'Co-short,' resembling an alumni reunion.

▶Hwang Je-seong: It will proceed in a hierarchical manner. (laughs)

-As times change, there must be ongoing concerns about creating comedy programs.

▶PD Kim: I've been working as a PD for 20 years, almost entirely in comedy. Seeing the passion of comedians makes me feel excited and alive. It's not easy to make people laugh, but this experience was incredibly fun. We even hung a photo of Je-seong dressed as a maid infiltrating a maid café in our production team's office because it was so amusing. I'm currently contemplating what kind of color platform comedy should take on.

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*This content was translated by AI.