Actor Ji Yea-un mimics NewJeans member Hanni’s testimony in broken Korean during a National Assembly audit in an “SNL Korea” skit. Captured from Coupang Play By KTimes Recent controversies surrounding popular Korean comedy and entertainment programs have revealed a disturbing trend: the use of the vulnerable as the butt of jokes, often under the guise of parody. Criticism has been especially sharp against “SNL Korea” on the streaming platform Coupang Play, and the dating reality show “I Am Solo” on SBS Plus and ENA channels.
The backlash exposes issues in Korea’s entertainment culture, with calls for drastic reform as these programs face mounting criticism for their insensitive treatment of marginalized groups, both domestically and internationally. "SNL Korea" has recently faced repeated controversy for its inappropriate portrayals of vulnerable individuals. In a scene from the skit “National Assembly Audit,” released on Oct.
19, actor Je Yea-un was shown sobbing, intentionally stammering in broken Korean as she said, “I met an employee in the hallway and greeted them, but a supervisor from the adjacent team told me, ‘Hey, just ignore her.’ I was very sad.” The skit used the recent testimony of NewJeans member Hanni, a Vietnamese Australian, who emotionally shared her experience of workplace harassment at a National Assembly hearing.
If a white American actor had imitated an Asian immigrant struggling to express their suffering in broken English o.