Comedian Lee Sang-jun. [Herald Muse]
Comedian Lee Sang-jun. [Herald Muse]

Comedian Lee Sang-jun has responded to criticism of his Los Angeles show, saying those who enjoy his work are welcome to come — and those who do not are free to stay away.

On Wednesday, Lee posted a lengthy statement on Instagram addressing allegations that he arrived late to his Aug. 2 LA performance and had come underprepared, denying both claims point by point. He acknowledged only the sound quality as his responsibility.

"I had been saying half-jokingly during shows for the past two months that something was going to go wrong," Lee wrote. "I knew some kind of incident would happen at some point, so honestly I'm not that hurt right now."

Lee denied arriving late, saying he had been at the LA venue in the morning and was standing behind the curtain 10 minutes before showtime. "The show started about 10 minutes late because the audience hadn't been seated yet," he said. "I was never late."

Responding to criticism that he visited a baseball stadium before the show, Lee said he had deliberately explored the city to find material that would resonate with an LA audience. "I've never lived in LA, so I went around on purpose to find things I could connect with the crowd about," he said.

He added that he had taken a similar approach before his April show in New York, running 10 kilometers in Central Park — something he said he does not normally do — and getting a foot massage, all to gather stories he could use on stage. "I wandered around just to have New York stories to make people laugh," he said.

On the sound problems, Lee said he confirmed after the show that audio quality had been poor in the front rows on both sides of the venue. "I'm reflecting on why I didn't check that more carefully," he said. "I'm truly sorry about that."

Lee staged his stand-up comedy show "Lee Sang-jun Show" in LA on Sunday. About 1,700 people attended, and negative reviews citing sound quality, pacing and overall production spread online quickly after the performance.

On criticism of the show's content and quality, Lee said, "This is my current level," adding that he is continuously studying and working to improve.

"Those who are fine with this are welcome to come," he said. "Come, watch, and if you like it, come again — if not, you don't have to."

Addressing complaints about ticket prices, Lee said fans who find the tickets too expensive are welcome to see him in South Korea instead. "Everything in Korea is sold out right now," he said. "I'll be opening additional dates soon."

Lee said he plans to turn the reviews and comments he has received into comedy material. "I'm too old to have time to be discouraged," he said.

He added that if the style of comedy he is pursuing fails, someone else will eventually have to start it all over again. "From today, I'm going back to being a troublemaker," he said.

Lee is currently on a comedy world tour, covering 17 cities in South Korea and 12 cities across four countries. After LA, he continues his North America run with stops in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York and Toronto.


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