‘I do sex comedy because I don’t know politics’: Park Na-rae and feminism-charged comedy in South Korea

Chung, Elaine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1137-3190 2025. ‘I do sex comedy because I don’t know politics’: Park Na-rae and feminism-charged comedy in South Korea. East Asian Journal of Popular Culture Item availability restricted.

	PDF (Provisional file) - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (17kB)
	PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (310kB)

Abstract

This article investigates how female comedians in South Korea challenge gender norms and engage with feminist issues through the case study of Park Na-rae, one of the country’s most prominent television comediennes. Known for her sexually suggestive humour, Park has achieved widespread popularity while also provoking public controversies and even police investigations. By analysing her performance in the Netflix stand-up special Park Na-rae: Glamour Warning (2019) alongside related media discourses, this article explores Park’s dual strategies of producing feminist humour while simultaneously depoliticising its impact. Drawing on Krefting’s (2014) concept of the ‘economy of charged humour,’ the article demonstrates how South Korean comediennes negotiate transgressive agency within the constraints of mainstream entertainment culture. By foregrounding their strategic performativity of comic intent—through comparing on-stage performances with off-stage paratexts—this article illuminates the complex terrain in which East Asian comediennes mediate feminist expression within their specific industrial and sociocultural contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Modern Languages
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PI Oriental languages and literatures
Publisher:	Intellect
ISSN:	2051-7084
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 November 2025
Date of Acceptance:	6 November 2025
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2025 14:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182139

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item