SNL Korea Season 6 has landed in hot water for its parody of the popular tvN drama Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, accused of crossing the line by sexualizing the lead character.
The skit aired on October 26th on Coupang Play, featuring comedian Jung Yi Lang holding auditions for a modernized Chunhyangjeon theater production. In the skit, Ahn Young Mi appears as Jeong Nyeon from the drama, introducing herself as “Jeot Nyeon (sounds like ‘boobs in Korean’),” with a suggestive play on words. She continues with a parody of the classic Korean love song Sarangga, singing lines like “Come here, let’s play. Come here, we’ll take our clothes off,” while making suggestive gestures.
Following the performance, Jung Yi Rang’s character responds, “Enough. Just watching you could get me pregnant. This would even boost the birth rate up.”
Set in post-war 1950s Korea, Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born is a story of a young woman’s determination to break into the male-dominated world of theater, highlighting women’s ambitions and social bonds. Many viewers are now criticizing SNL Korea for diminishing the acclaimed series’ empowering themes with an inappropriate parody.
Viewers took to online forums to criticize the show, with comments like, “Did no one see how wrong this was during planning?” and “Actors trained for years to convey a meaningful message, and this is how SNL uses it?” Others voiced frustration over SNL Korea’s recent direction, stating, “All they can seem to do is sexualize trending characters and mock Nobel laureates,” and, “Are they unable to distinguish between satire and disrespect?”
SNL Korea Season 6 has not yet responded to public criticism regarding this skit or previous backlash over recent parodies, including portrayals of Nobel Literature Prize winner Han Kang and NewJeans’ Hani’s appearance at a national assembly hearing.
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