Photo: Jeon Yu-seong. Credit: Family Entertainment.
On September 25, Jeon Yu-seong 전유성 passed away from acute pneumothorax at a hospital near Namwon, Jeollabuk-do Province 전라북도 남원. Born in 1949, Jeon began his career in show business in 1969 as a comedy writer. At a time when South Korean TV comedy had little more than slapstick and pratfalls to offer, Jeon’s writing stood out for the quality and wit of his slow-burning, deadpan humor.
Jeon also stood out for his dedication to developing his field, and to identifying talented younger comedians and elevating them to stardom. He was the force behind Gag Concert 개그콘서트, a sketch comedy show that Jeon adapted for television from popular shows in Seoul’s live theater scene. The show, which is still on the air, went on to become South Korea’s longest-running television comedy show, with more than 1,100 episodes since 1999.
The September 28 episode of Gag Concert showed a final message from Jeon: “Comedians put a great deal of thought into making people laugh. If everyone were a bit more thoughtful, the world would be so much more fun.” Fellow comedian Nam Hee-seok 남희석 said Jeon had picked out his epitaph before he passed: “Don’t laugh, you’re next. 웃지마, 너도 곧 와.”
