
Hong Joon-pyo mocks top rivals on 'SNL' ahead of June presidential election
Conservative firebrand calls frontrunner Lee Jae-myung a 'thug' and Han Dong-hoon a 'narcissist'
South Korean presidential contender Hong Joon-pyo, a senior figure in the conservative People Power Party, has drawn fresh attention with a sharp-tongued, satirical appearance on "SNL Korea," taking direct aim at top rivals Lee Jae-myung and Han Dong-hoon ahead of the country's critical June 3 election.
In Saturday's episode of the comedy sketch show in its seventh season, via streaming platform Coupang Play, the former Daegu mayor appears dressed as a convenience store job applicant.
The segment gave Hong a stage to fire off barbed comments about leading candidates in a format that blended political parody with pointed critique.
When asked about former Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung, Hong didn't hold back. 'He's a 'yangachi,'' he said, using a Korean slang term that roughly translates to 'thug' or 'delinquent,' often used to describe someone seen as unscrupulous or morally corrupt.
Hong also mocked Lee's reaction to a resurfaced video clip from September 2024, in which Hong had said, 'A party that gets impeached must give up on the next presidential election.' The clip was played during a Democratic Party leadership meeting on April 7, where Lee was seen laughing.
Hong, clarifying the intent of his comment, said, 'That was a warning to Yoon (Suk Yeol) and Han (Dong-hoon) not to fight and get impeached. If Lee thought I meant that literally, then he just doesn't get it. That's why I said he's not very smart.'
Hong did not spare those in his own conservative camp either. He criticized former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, calling him a once 'pure' figure who has 'grown murkier,' and labeled former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon as a 'narcissist.'
On economic policy, Hong also weighed in on South Korea's current minimum wage — at 10,030 won ($7) an hour -- 'It's too high,' he said. 'Small business owners can't keep up unless the whole family pitches in.'
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Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
'Maybe Happy Ending' triumphs with 6 Tony Awards, including best musical
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'Equally important were the meticulous scenic design and direction, which carefully rendered a digital world tailored to the emotional arc of the story,' she said. 'In the end, every element of the production came together in harmony to create a work of great beauty. And as a musical with a distinctly Korean identity, it also contributed meaningfully to Broadway's ongoing conversation around diversity and representation,' she added. The show's origins go back to 2014, when it was developed with funding from Korea's Wooran Foundation. It premiered in Seoul in 2016 and ran for five seasons in small theaters in Daehangno, before its English-language adaptation made it to New York's Belasco Theatre in November 2024. During its development, the Broadway production generated anticipation with the involvement of producer Jeffrey Richards, an eight-time Tony Award winner. Park and Aronson, who met in New York when Park was an international student at New York University, worked on four musicals together. The duo's recent project, "Il Tenore," which premiered in Seoul in 2023, also won top honors, including the grand prize and composition award at a major Korean musical awards ceremony. Three decades of effort Though Park is the first Korean national to win a Tony Award in the musical theater category, Korean musicals have been striving, through various forms and evolving strategies, to break into Broadway for more than three decades. The first major push for a Korean musical to reach Broadway began with "The Last Empress," which premiered in 1995 and was invited to New York's Lincoln Center in 1997. Although it wasn't a full-scale commercial run, it marked the first Korean musical to appear on a US Broadway-affiliated stage. Efforts continued with tryouts and workshops in 2002, but a full Broadway debut never materialized. In 2003, the nonverbal hit Nanta became the first Korean production to enter Off-Broadway, later expanding to Las Vegas and London's West End. By the 2010s, Korean companies had shifted focus to investment-driven collaborations, with CJ ENM co-producing Broadway hits such as "Kinky Boots" (2013), "Moulin Rouge!" (2021) and "MJ the Musical" (2022), all of which received multiple Tony Awards. In 2023, "The Great Gatsby," produced by Shin Chun-soo of OD Company, marked a new strategic step, with a Korean producer leading the development and financing of a Broadway-bound production from the ground up. The show officially opened on Broadway and later transferred to the West End. Similarly, "Marie Curie," which premiered in Korea in 2020, was staged in London's West End in 2023. Following the musical's Tony Awards sweep, congratulations poured in from across Korea's creative and political spheres. At a press conference for "Squid Game" Season 3 in Seoul on Monday, director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who won best director for a drama series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2022, said he was 'pleasantly surprised' by the news. 'Among the four major awards ceremonies — the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tonys — I always thought the Tonys were the most distant," he said. "So I am incredibly proud to hear a Korean musical won such prestigious awards there." President Lee Jae-myung also issued a statement celebrating the historic win. 'This achievement is by no means the result of a single day's effort. It is the culmination of the dedication, passion and creative determination shown by our cultural and artistic community over many years. 'Today's Tony Award win is not the end, but a new beginning. I will do my utmost to ensure that more Korean artists thrive on the global stage, and that our culture continues to inspire and uplift people around the world.' The president also emphasized the government's role in supporting the arts, pledging to 'further strengthen support for the culture and arts sector, and serve as a strong foundation so that our artists can fully pursue their dreams and shine on the world stage.' gypark@


Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Korean battery-makers push President Lee for direct subsidies
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Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Lee likely to meet business leaders later this week ahead of G7 summit
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