Laughing North Koreans

Immanuel Kim is Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies at George Washington University.

• Introduction: Let’s Proceed With LaughterChapter 1: Comedian Comedy: Faces of the IndustryChapter 2: I Spy a Spy: Social Anxiety and Farce in Boasting Too MuchChapter 3: Taming of the Chief: Interruptive Laughter and Gender Politics in My Family’s ProblemChapter 4: Mind Your Manners: Comedy of Manners in Day at the Amusement ParkChapter 5: Love and Marriage: Romantic Comedy as Visual Culture

At last there is a book that reads North Korean cinema beyond the usual focus on political events, personality cult, and propaganda function. Focusing on seldom-studied comedy films from North Korea, Laughing North Koreans: The Culture of Comedy Films opens up the field by situating North Korean cinema at the confluence of national cinema, film genre, cultural studies, and identity politics. Immanuel Kim’s exciting, finely-researched book is a must-read for anyone interested in socialist cinema, Korean film history, and North Korean history, film, and culture.