What a viewNetflix Korean sitcom So Not Worth It is a reminder comedy doesn’t always translate well
- The canned laughter of So Not Worth It seems to have been dropped in at random – is a show full of yelling in Korean and slapstick worth your time and effort?
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Comedy is not a fully convertible currency. One nation’s screamingly funny sitcom might be another’s American version of The Office.
A similar problem seems to afflict Korean situation comedy So Not Worth It (Netflix, series one now showing), set in a Daehan International University dormitory, where misunderstandings and well-meaning gestures gone wrong seem to represent the entire meaning of life.
Nominally in charge is Se-wan (played by Park Se-wan), a business major senior and resident adviser to a collection of foreign students. They represent Thailand, Australia, Sweden, the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, and all speak suspiciously good Korean.
Over a barrage of constant yelling and slapstick it is difficult to discern a theme running through the series, although it may eventually prove to be one of romance, and probably amounts to more than the silly trainer envy that underpins episode two.
Even worse than the intrusive graphics is the canned laughter, which seems to have been dropped in at random intervals using a computer program. Is this show worth the effort? You be the judge.