김구라 ‘독설 개그,’ 도를 넘어섰나?

개그맨 김구라(43)가 독설 개그로 또 한번 지적을 받았다.

지난 20일 방송된 MBC '황금어장-라디오스타'에는 '장난감 중독 특집'으로 개그맨 이봉원, 개그우먼 김신영, 가수 케이윌, 로봇연구원 한재권이 출연했다.

이날 케이윌이 자신이 소유한 아이언맨 피규어를 보여주자 김구라는 조심성 없이 이를 들어 올렸다가 결국 바닥에 떨어뜨렸다. 케이윌의 표정이 굳자 김구라는 급히 사과를 하며 사건이 마무리되는 듯했다.

그러나 김구라는 케이윌이 “한정판을 떨어뜨렸으면 카메라를 껐을 것”이라는 말에 “그나마 (대량생산제품을) 잘 떨어뜨린 것”이라고 해 다시 한번 빈축을 샀다.

뒤이어 한정판의 가격이 100만원을 넘지 않는다는 말을 들은 김구라는 케이윌에게 “그런데 카메라를 끄려고?”라고 물었으나 케이윌은 “돈이 있어도 구할 수 없는 물건”이라면서 “중요한 것은 수집가의 마음”이라고 지적했다.

한편 김구라는 이전에도 김신영이 가져온 레고를 보여주자 “집에서 쓸데없는 짓 한다”고 말했다.

이와 같은 김구라의 언행에 시청자들은 “다른 사람들의 취미를 존중할 줄 모르는 모습이다”며 비난을 퍼붓고 있다. 한 트위터 사용자는 “인터넷 시절에 비하면 아무것도 아니다”라면서 “왜 계속 나오는지 모르겠다”고 비난했다.

한편 이로 인해 과거에 다른 연예인들에게 한 언행도 주목을 받고 있는데, 한 시청자는 “에전에 신봉선에게 ‘잘나갈 때 재취하라’고 했을 때 정말 화났다”고 말했다.

<관련 영문 기사>

Has Kim Gu-ra gone too far?

Once heralded as one of Korea’s top funnymen, Kim Gu-ra is now facing mounting criticism about his unique style of “spiteful comedy” that seems to ignore others’ feelings.

Korean netizens were abuzz on Thursday over Kim’s attitude on MBC’s popular talk show “Golden Fishery-Radio Star.” The Wednesday edition of the program featured celebrities whose hobby is collecting eclectic items.

Singer K-will showed off his collections including Iron Man action figures. Despite K-will’s protests, Kim went on to move one of the Iron Man figures to the center stage himself and, before he knew it, he dropped it on the floor and damaged the item.

Being an avid collector, K-will seemed furious at first. The singer relented a little after Kim made hurried apologies. But the incident did not end there, with Kim even venturing to make a callous remark: “It was a good thing” that he dropped the cheaper model and not the pricey limited edition.

Earlier in the show, Kim said that comedian Kim Shin-young does “useless stuff at home” when she showed him her Lego collection.

The comedian’s attitude was met with an onslaught of lashing by netizens, who pointed out that he was tactless and downright rude about other people’s hobbies.

Wednesday’s incident, however, was not an isolated case in the 43-year-old comedian’s lengthy career of making jokes by insulting others.

When Kim debuted as a comedian in 1993 under his real name Kim Hyeon-dong, his popularity was next to nil.

In order to make a name for himself, he changed his stage name to Gu-ra (a Korean slang meaning “a lie”) and started an Internet-based talk show. Matching witty comments with cursing and outrageous slandering of celebrities, Kim’s show garnered a sizeable fan base online.

Boosted by his newfound “underground” popularity, Kim wiggled his way into the mainstream comedy scene in the mid-2000s and solidified his place with his new style of unpretentious and often vulgar comedy.

Kim’s fame came at a price, however. On one hand gaining fans with his trademark profanity, the comedian also made people deeply uncomfortable with his style of offending just about everyone in sight.

His Internet stint also haunt him to this day; last year, he was pressured to quit all TV activities after his derogatory remarks about comfort women -- former Korean sex slaves of Japanese military during World War II -- were made public.

While Kim made his comeback just months later, many people still express discomfort at his comedy.

“I wish he would just disappear. I don’t know how he can keep making appearances on TV. I was really mad when he told comedian Shin Bong-sun to remarry while she is successful -- Shin has never been married before,” said one Twitter user.

“When you look back to his ‘Internet days,’ what he is doing right now is nothing,” added another user.

By Yoon Min-sik

(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)