The strict, military-like hierarchy inside Korea’s comedy industry was laid bare on KBS2’s Malja Show, as comedians Song Joon Geun, Kim Won Hyo and Jung Beom Kyun openly shared stories of hazing culture — including being slapped across the face by seniors for on-air mistakes.
Korean celebrities (Credits: Koreaboo)
Korean Comedians Reveal Hazing Culture on KBS Malja Show
On the November 2 episode of the KBS2 variety program, the conversation turned to the rigid senior-junior discipline that once ruled the world of Korean comedians. Song Joon Geun set the tone by noting that comedians had “regulations even regarding their attire,” describing a lifestyle governed by unspoken rules and strict obedience to seniors.
Jung Beom Kyun then recalled one incident that shocked the cast. After he and Kim Won Hyo made mistakes during a taping, a senior demanded the culprit raise a hand. “I raised mine, and then I immediately got slapped on the cheek,” Jung said. He added that when he turned his head afterward, he saw Kim Won Hyo quietly lowering his hand — leaving Jung as the only one punished.
Kim Won Hyo offered his own sheepish defense. He insisted he had been hesitating, caught in the awkward atmosphere, when Jung Beom Kyun suddenly shouted “It’s me!” and raised his hand. “I’m also human; I couldn’t just say, ‘I raised my hand too, so hit me,'” Kim admitted, drawing laughter despite the grim subject.
Not the First Time the Industry’s Violent Discipline Has Surfaced
This is far from the first time the industry’s abusive hazing culture has been exposed. On the YouTube channel Gag Women last month, comediennes Jung Kyung Mi, Kim Kyung Ah, Oh Na Mi and Jo Seung Hee revealed they had been excluded from seniors’ meals, forced to eat leftovers or sneak food in restrooms.
Even more disturbingly, in July comedian Jung Cheol Gyu described being physically assaulted by a senior during his active years. He recalled being pulled aside by a senior who questioned his reported ₩30.0 million KRW (about $22,300 USD) earnings, then slapped hard on the cheek inside a parked car — repeatedly, on both sides of his face.
A Culture of Silence Under Scrutiny
Each new revelation peels back another layer of an industry where physical punishment was once treated as routine discipline. As more comedians break their silence, the conversation is shifting from whispered anecdotes to a public reckoning with the hierarchical abuse that shaped an era of Korean comedy.
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Source: Koreaboo — read the full story there.