Comedian capitalizes on Park’s popularity

Comedian Jung Seong-ho is dressed up as President-elect Park Geun-hye as a headliner of “SNL Korea,” a comedy show on tvN. / Image captured from tvN

Comedian Jung Seong-ho has been around since the late 1990s and has gained a reputation for his parodies of famous people in sports, entertainment and politics.

On various TV programs, Jung has parodied Korean swimming sensation Park Tae-hwan or Lim Jae-beom, a popular ballad singer and star of MBC’s survival audition program “I’m a Singer.”

But Jung’s latest fame has to do with President-elect Park Geun-hye, whom Jung has been imitating on TV with a humorous twist for the past year.

He has portrayed Park in “SNL Korea,” the Korean version of the American comedy show that debuted on cable channel TVN last December.

“SNL Korea” has featured several politicians ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election, but Jung has become the headliner of the show with a hilarious yet realistic portrayal of the political titan who has now been elected as Korea’s first female president.

In particular, “SNL Korea” recently parodied the first two TV debates by the presidential candidates that took place ahead of the election.

There is an element of comedy when a man acts like a woman. Jung is not only funny, but also a great actor.

What makes Jung’s performance unique is how closely he resembles Park in his speech, demeanor and facial expressions. In imitating Park, the 36-year-old comedian put an emphasis on duplicating Park’s smile, hair, fashion style and speech.

Much like Park, Jung always makes an entrance with a shy smile and both hands tucked in front of him. He likes to use words “principle” and “unity,” which are often found in Park’s vocabulary. Jung also dresses in jackets and pants in the style of Park. He uses the name “Park Ge-nae,” which almost sounds like Park’s real name.

Jung had been preparing to do parodies of Park since early 2011, when he was told by colleagues that he would look like her if he wore a wig.

Jung most recently appeared as Park on the latest episode of “SNL Korea,” Saturday, where he sang Christmas carols and thanked supporters. That was the last of the second season of “SNL Korea.” “SNL Korea,” which airs Saturdays, will return in March.

Jung also played Park on a comedy program on MBC early this year.

For a comedian whose calling is to parody others, one of the most difficult things is to find an inspiration. But at least for the next five years, Jung seems covered.

“After Park was elected our next president, many friends and colleagues called and congratulated me. For the next five years, I don’t think I’ll be worrying about coming up with characters for my parody acts,” Jung said in a recent interview with Star News. <The Korea Times/Do Je-hae>