Laughing North Koreans

Immanuel Kim is Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies at The 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

Laughing North Koreans: The Culture of Comedy Films is ultimately a fascinating and extensive study of a subject seldom covered in this way. Immanuel Kim draws the reader into a cultural space where unexpectedly there are starts like Kim Se-yong and franchises such as the My Family's Problem series, which North Korean audiences really could have engaged with and followed through the years. Readers will be more than satisfied with Kim's careful analysis of these films and the legacies and histories they leave.