[Lecture] 'ROFL: Exploring Early 20th Century Vernacular Korean Humor'

LECTURE TITLE: 'ROFL: Exploring Early 20th Century Vernacular Korean Humor' SPEAKER: Graham Hand DATE: Tuesday. September 8, 2026. 7:20PM (Seoul) VENUE: Fifth floor (Conference Room) of [FAST FIVE Tower](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fast+Five+City+Hall/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x357ca333f05c7b27:0x4bfb9a1d10b09404!8m2!3d37.567102!4d126.9811195!16s%2Fg%2F11ffm04y7s?entry=ttu) (Namdaemun-ro 9-gil 24, Jung-gu, Seoul), a short walk from Exit 1 of Euljiro-1-ga Station (을지로입구역, Metro Line 2) SUMMARY: *Kkalkkaruseum* is a collection of 72 short humorous texts originally published in 1916. It was part of a wave of Korean humor books produced for popular audiences in this era: at least 26 such collections were published between 1910 and the early 1950s. *Kkalkkaruseum* stands out as not only one of the earliest collections of written humor published in vernacular Korean, but one of the most popular, with the ninth edition being published in 1926. This gives it value as a window into the popular humor of its era. The context of this book includes several influences—an older Korean tradition of humorous anecdotal literature, borrowings from foreign sources both in China and the West, and the enthusiastic adoption of short-form humor in early Korean newspapers. The focus of this talk will be exploring the sense of humor displayed by the texts in this book. This will include examining the depictions of relationships and violations of social norms in the humor it presents. The talk will also explore humor texts as a window on aspects of daily life not depicted in more high-status literary forms. Finally, it will approach issues around understanding and translating humor in general by examining specific translation issues encountered through working on these texts. BIO: G.S. Hand studied modern Korean literature at Korea University and translation at the LTI Korea Translation Academy. He won the Fiction Grand Prize of the 53rd Modern Korean Translation Awards. He translates old humor in the *Korea Times* column *Laughing through History*, and translates the children’s stories of Hyeon Deok through the project *The Story of Noma*. He has also translated works by authors including Baek Minsuk, Kim Heesun, Kim Soom, Son Hong-kyu, and Kim Ae-ran. He teaches at the Ewha University School of Translation and Interpretation. ADMISSION (Online & In-person): Free for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W10,000 for Non-members; W5,000 for Non-member students (Student ID requested) • If you would like to attend online Zoom, • [RSVP](https://forms.gle/Xar1in2zrTu3JjTk7) by September 7 (Monday). Zoom Link Request ☞ [CLICK](https://forms.gle/DwRkm4h2bqw7iKoM9) • We will email you the link on the morning of the lecture day. • For Non-member, payment to be remitted to the following account: SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB) • To attend in-person, RSVP is not required.