‘Really Crossing the Line’: SNL Korea Faces Criticism for Sexually Mocking Women in Parody of K-drama Jeongnyeon, Entertainment News

How much is too much?

On October 27, the sketch comedy series SNL Korea attempted to parody the ongoing K-drama Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, but its take on the female-centric story has sparked backlash.

Set in the 1950s, the drama follows protagonist Yoon Jeong-nyeon (played by Kim Tae-ri) as she joins an all-female musical theater company to pursue her dreams.

The SNL skit stars comedian Ahn Young-mi, whose name has been changed to Jeot-nyeon. Jeot refers to breast milk in Korean.

Like Jeong-nyeon in the drama, Young-mi performs a verse of the pansori (a traditional Korean musical storytelling genre) Love Song.

However, the texts have been changed. Instead of “come over here, and let’s have fun,” Young-mi sings, “Come over here, let’s do it naked,” while making suggestive gestures.

Cast member Jung Yi-rang interrupts, “Stop. Just looking at this makes me feel like I could get pregnant. This could help with the birth policy.”

The skit has received criticism both locally and internationally.

Korean reports wrote that audiences have expressed their disgust, saying the attempted parody “sexually ridicules” women in the drama Jeongnyeon.

A post about the show on Korean forum Theqoo received nearly 700 comments overnight, with the majority disapproving of SNL Korea.

“You’re really crossing the line,” said one Internet user.

“The ridicule is too much… it’s not funny at all,” said another.

Another found the sketch “disrespectful” to the original drama and cast: “If you’re going to do it this way, don’t parody it… It’s a disservice to the original.”

The sketch also circulated on X, where international netizens pointed out that Jeong-nyeon is a minor in the show.

One of them even tagged NBC, the American broadcaster that hosts the original Saturday Night Live (SNL), and urged them to consider revoking SNL Korea’s license.

https://x.com/speekmsg/status/1847924718973886469?s=46

While SNL Korea has yet to respond to the controversy, this isn’t the first time it has faced backlash.

They were previously condemned by the public for parodying, to the point of derision, author Han Kang – who recently made history by becoming the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize for Literature – and Hanni from NewJeans, who spoke about workplace bullying in the National Assembly. .

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