[Sportschosun Lee Woo-joo] Comedian Kim Won-hoon spoke about the strict hierarchy culture among comedians.
On the 22nd, a video titled "The Story of Kim Won-hoon and Swings Fighting (feat. What Were You Doing Back Then, Jang Ji-soo)" was uploaded to the YouTube channel "Egenam Swings."
Kim Won-hoon, a former KBS public recruit comedian, said, "'Gag Con' only pays me when I appear on it. But I could not do many segments back then. Did I do only two segments in five years? I thought I was just not a good fit for 'Gag Con,' so I started 'Shortbox' to pour most of my energy into YouTube."
Kim Won-hoon said he did not fit in well with terrestrial TV at first. "I am not a sophisticated person, but I had to do healthy comedy that could make everyone laugh no matter what I said, and that was hard. Even shows like 'Radio Star' were very difficult. Now I have done a lot of different things, so I have some sense of it, but back then I learned by charging ahead blindly," he said. "When senior comedians were around, I would freeze up a lot. Some places had such a strict code that there were only one or two seniors I could speak casually with."
He then talked about the harsh discipline culture among comedians. Kim Won-hoon revealed, "Back then, I do not know why, but people were beaten for trivial reasons without any real explanation. There were also group punishments."
Kim Won-hoon said, "In comedian group punishments, you always had to hold the pose with your chin pressed against your upper chest. If you kept doing it, your neck hurt so badly it felt like it would snap. It was my first time trying that posture, so I did not know any better. I thought, 'If other people can endure it, maybe there is something wrong with my disc.'" He added, "While the seniors were scolding us, I raised my hand and said, 'I am sorry, but may I look at the sky for just five seconds?' The seniors got furious and said things like, 'Are you a troublemaker?' and 'What the hell are you doing?' All the anger came down on me. I had a very hard time adapting to my years as a comedian. I became a comedian after not doing comedy for a long time. I graduated from the Department of Theater and Film, and I wanted to be an actor."
Still, Kim Won-hoon said, "In everyday life, the rules are strict and seniority matters, but when it comes to comedy, the atmosphere is extremely free. Maybe that is why people seem even more professional. Seniors also say that when things are tough, you should turn everything into comedy."
wjlee@sportschosun.com
