Hwang Je-seong, winner of the "Comedy Short League" final: "What I do best = making people laugh" [Interview 1]

*This content was translated by AI.

Comedian Hwang Je-seong shared his thoughts on winning the "Comedy Short League" following his victory in "Comedy Revenge."

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

"Comedy Short League" is the first participatory short-form comedy league on a domestic OTT platform by TVING, where multiple comedians gather to compete in creating 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 users of the TVING app.

Fifteen teams, including the five major contenders "Ko-short" (Lee Yong-jin and Nam Ho-yeon), "Hwang-salt-tang" (Hwang Je-seong and Seol Myeong-geun), "Bread-short-guk" (Gwak Beom and Lee Chang-ho), "150-second" (Im Woo-il, Lee Seung-hwan, and Hong Ye-seul), and "Comedians" (Yoon Seung and Park Min-sung), along with 10 teams from the Maiter division, submitted their applications. Hwang Je-seong of Hwang-salt-tang, who achieved a season double crown, secured the final championship after a 12-week cumulative result starting from June 1, becoming the producer of a TVING original solo comedy show as the championship reward.

Hwang Seol-tang secured an early lead in the overall championship race by recording the program's first five consecutive weeks at number one, centered around his powerful character "Johnson Hwang," an Interpol police officer. Following him, Bread Short-guk took second place, Han Tae-su third, while 150 Seconds and Comedians claimed fourth and fifth places respectively, completing the season's final top five ranking table.

The special episode of "Co-Short," titled "Comedy Short League Alumni Association," will be released on Tving at 6 p.m. on October 2.

-How do you feel about finishing the 'Short Form' season?

▶PD Kim: It was good to meet the comedians I had originally been close with again, and it was refreshing to meet a new team. We had fun and enjoyed ourselves.

Hwang Je-seong: The viewers' enjoyment gave me confidence. I initially thought our team had fallen behind, but winning first place was an honor.

What benefits do the champions receive?

▶Hwang Je-seong: In the beginning, there were comments like, "If we win, won't this be a punishment?" But we couldn't just go about things casually. It was the same with 'Comedy Big League'; no team slacked off. I wanted to produce a show that covers two aspects of winning programs. We want to structure the content as a celebration for our hard work together and as an alumni gathering that propels us forward for the next program.

-You must have felt some burden while participating in the new platform comedy.

▶Hwang Je-seong: Anyone who thinks something is fun brings it as a segment. I also created comedy based on what I found fun, but this time it was evaluated very coldly. Isn't there no single correct answer? Since what I thought wasn't fun ended up winning, it's not easy to pin down the right point. With shorts, I realized it's better to do what others like rather than just what I like. It's still difficult, but I think it's a good market. Over 12 weeks, there were subtle shifts in rhythm. There was even talk of accepting people who want to take on challenges among ordinary individuals. I feel like I presented something that was 70% raw and 30% polished.

Did PD consider Mr. Hwang Je-seong as a championship contender when casting him?

▶PD Kim: I have known Mr. Je Sung for a very long time since the "Covick" days and cast him first this time. I thought Mr. Hwang Je-seong is the top comedian in the comedy world, so I believed he would do well. When he tries to show something, his eyes sparkle. The first episode's filming with Mr. Je took 18 hours, the longest yet, but even in a situation that could be difficult, staff members said, "If it's this funny, we'd film for 24 hours."

-Even in short-form content, the "Johnson Hwang" character, which was showcased during the "Covic" period, was primarily presented. What differences were there when showing the Johnson Hwang character on shorts compared to on TV?

▶Hwang Je-seong: (Showing the same character) is an undeniable fact. I worried that it might look like "Yam-saeng-i" to minor teams. Don't major teams pull out their own swords when they are in a hurry? There were times when my aim was off at zero, causing me to have a mental breakdown. Even three days before recording, I sometimes couldn't come up with an idea. So, there were situations where we had no choice but to pull over on the shoulder. The advantage of shorts is that they can show content in a significantly shortened time.

What did you notice was different about Shorts content compared to TV while creating it?

▶PD Kim: We believed that if someone laughed even once upon clicking, word of mouth would spread. I tried competing content in the Shorts format for the first time; it seems the major teams played to their strengths safely, while the minor teams found their own way to be entertaining.

▶Hwang Je-seong: In the past, I did a lot of hardcore makeup, and while I sometimes worried that too much makeup might make me look old, I realized that if it's done well, there's no better armor than this. It seems trends come around in cycles. The production team told me that 'horror' is the current trend.

Hwang Je-seong won the championship in "Co-short" following his victory in "Comedy Revenge."

▶Hwang Je-seong: Every time this topic comes up, I feel too embarrassed. I still think the best thing is when people laugh, and I believe I am good at it myself. I think it is a wonderful thing for someone to be applauded for mastering one skill after being born.

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*This content was translated by AI.