Seoul's funniest 'gay incel' puts on final stand-up show before moving away

By Jon Dunbar

Rory Kelly, a British comedian, actor, writer, pub quiz contestant and occasional Korea Times contributor who has lived in Korea since February 2020, has decided it's time to move on.

"I've had a lot of fun living in Seoul, and I like my life here, but I can't imagine myself staying forever," he told The Korea Times, "and the longer I leave it, the harder it will be both to leave and to start somewhere new."

Before he moves away, he said he has a lot of junk to get rid of that he's accumulated over the years, particularly from others who've left previously.

"I always get tempted to take other people's things when they're leaving, convincing myself that at some point I'll need a popcorn maker," he said. "This means that I own a hundred things that I've never touched, have no idea if they work and that I need to somehow jettison from my house. I'm not sure anyone actually ever deliberately bought the popcorn maker; it just gets passed on from one leaving hoarder to the next until it's lived with every expat in Seoul."

Another plan for before he leaves Seoul, he's hosting one final stand-up comedy show this Friday at Taco Amigo.

"I'm a part of some really cool groups here, doing improv and comedy, and those scenes are just beginning to come back into their own after the pandemic; it's so sad I won't get to see where they go next. If only I could bring them with me, but the popcorn maker takes up a lot of room in my suitcase," he said.

Kelly says Seoul's English-language stand-up comedy scene is strong but small, "like a Geodude" — a boulder-like Pokemon.

"Stage-time is a precious thing, and comedians in Seoul are lucky in that there are actually a lot of opportunities to get up and show your stuff," he said. "I love how many events there are every month and that there are people willing to give their time and energy to make things happen. That being said, the audience is naturally limited due to language and culture barriers."

He looks back on his nearly five years in Korea "almost uniformly" positively.

"It's been a blast; Seoul is one of the coolest places in the world right now, and I got to be part of that!" he said.

He also explained how he has derived humor and jokes from observing the eccentricities of life in Korea. "All countries are funny, except France. A lot of people say that comedy comes from the specific, not the general, so every country, through its eccentricity, provides a lot of material," he said. "For example, I like to joke about the process of renewing your E-2 visa at the Mokdong Immigration Office — which involves walking up and down six flights of stairs multiple times because they keep telling you to go get different bits of paper — doubling as your health exam."

He added that he doesn't want to conflate unpleasant experiences in the country with the unfunny.

"I actually make a lot of jokes about the homophobia and xenophobia in South Korea because I think joking about them is one of the best ways to draw attention to them," said Kelly, who is openly gay.

"The actual unfunny parts are the things everyone does: waiting for the bus, watching TV, burying cabbage underground etc."

Kelly said his next stop is his hometown in Britain, and after that, he is looking at jobs in several different countries.

"One of the prime motivating factors for me moving somewhere is that it affords a lot of creative and performance opportunities," he said. "I genuinely love making people laugh. It's my favorite thing, and I'll do it even if only two people are listening. All the world's a stage; I just need to find where the mic is."

He says he expects to return to Korea someday, at least to visit.

"I'm not giving up dakgalbi that easily," he said. "I certainly want to come back to visit and see how much worse everything is without me. I can even see myself moving back for a longer period if I got a good job offer. I still can't quite imagine living forever in this country unless, for a start, they legalize gay marriage."

The show starts this Friday at 9 p.m. Also joining Kelly will be comedians Paul Russel and Kris James.

Follow @rorykellycomedy on Instagram for more information, or watch some of his videos on his YouTube channel @littlepotohorrors.