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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il - Source: Reuters -
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Stern, serious, socialist North Korea has carved out a spot in
TV history for having one of the world's longest running comedy
shows, despite it being mostly devoid of jokes for the decades it
has been on the air.
The show now called It's So Funny is meant to uplift the morale of
troops and extol propaganda about the virtues of serving under The
General Kim Jong-il.
Laughter is optional - unless the soldiers in the audience are
ordered to do so.
The format of the show is usually a conversation between a man and
a woman in military uniform, who sometimes sing, dance and try a
little slapstick, but mostly avoid telling one-liners.
"Often, it is really hard to find the humour," said a South Korean
official who monitors the North's official broadcasts.
"This type of show has been on since almost the beginning of the
state's official programming (in the 1970s)," he said.
The latest version that came out in the past week extolled the
virtue of beans, while avoiding any flatulence humour.
It opened with the man soldier saying to the woman soldier he feels
better and looks more handsome because he has been taking medicine
made from beans.
"If we soldiers see beans, we become happy," he said and
laughs.
"If we farm in the way the General tells us, we will become
happy," she said and laughs.
Few of the soldiers in the audience could be heard laughing.
There was one long send-up that did gather a few chuckles.
The two talk about how bean-fed North Korean soldiers were able
to fight off US imperialist troops during the Korean War.
The women soldier, playing the part of an old woman, said bean-fed
troops including her husband had amazing strength on the battle
field.
"But he died," she said.
The show concludes with the two delivering homilies on Kim
Jong-il's military rule.
"He had tried so hard to fill the people's tables," they say in
tearful voices.
There is no room for irony in the performance shown on the
reclusive state's only channel to a people who have battled chronic
food shortages for decades due to the government's bungled
agricultural policies.
Editor's note: The video below is not a clip from It's
So Funny, but a satirical video from Mad TV featuring a comedy
show in North Korea, hosted by the "Dear Leader"
himself
Kim Yong, who defected from the North and became a TV
personality in the South, said the actors on It's So Funny have
immense talent but they are working with comedy vetted by
propaganda experts and government censors.
"The show is delivering the same material over and over again," Kim
said.
"They are still talking about beans. The country hasn't changed at
all since I defected about 20 years ago."
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