Dead Korean Girl Comedy Show 처녀귀신 코미디 쇼

This dark absurdist comedy follows two Korean-Canadian women who die after accidentally falling into a construction pit in Queen’s Park, Toronto. They now have their ghost-selves to ponder the purgatory in bizarre spaces like Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill. Meanwhile, the fate of the two ghosts are being negotiated between The Canadian Bureau and the Korean Reaper.

This absurd, yet critical story jumps between comedy and drama, and is narrated by a mysterious “playwright” (inspired by traditional Korean storytellers, not the actual playwright), who intervenes, disrupts, and asks difficult questions.

Dead Korean Girl Comedy Show asks: How does “having an Asian woman’s body” put you at risk? Can we be liberated from violence when we no longer have bodies? Is there a comedy that exists within this liberation?

Age recommendation: 16+ (There are vagina jokes.)
Content warnings: Themes of death, anti-Asian racism, ghosts.
Sensory: loud screaming

Korean Translation:

술에 취한 두 여성이 퀸스파크 건설현장에 실수로 빠져 죽는다. 처녀귀신들에게 토론토 대학퀸즈 파크나 오타와 국회의사당같은 것들은 어떤 의미가 있을까? 한국계 캐네디언 귀신들 앞에 황당한 사후 세계가 펼쳐지는 동안 캐나다의 사후공무원과 한국의 저승사자가 그들의 운명을 회의한다. 2027년 초연을 앞둔 “처녀귀신 코미디 쇼”가 Aluna Theatre의 CAMINOS 축제에서 창작과정을 관객들과 공유합니다.

October 4, 2025 at 7:30 PM

Of course I am totally biased, as I have the pleasure to be directing this work. I first saw a reading of the play as part of the Aluna Cafe and I was hooked. It is extremely funny, deeply moving, and emotionally provoking. Working with Emily and Jenn has allowed me to meet a whole new generation of artists and communities. Emily’s visual design is…well, come and see it for yourself. And of course, who doesn’t like ghosts!!!!

Beatriz Pizano, Aluna Theatre Artistic Director

About the artist

Emily Jung

Emily Jung (Writer, Projection Designer) Emily Jung is a Korean-Canadian artist and arts worker working with themes around labour (and rest), multilingual arts, social media, hauntology, and eco-dramaturgy. She was an artist in rice & beans theatre’s Polyphonic Theatre residency in 2023. She is a co-recipient of Dora Awards in Projection and Scenic Design (for projections in Amanda Lin’s Between a Wok and a Hot Pot, produced by Cahoots Theatre), and a co-recipient of the 2024 Artist Award for Excellence in the Labour Movement at the Mayworks Festival of Labour and the Arts. Her essay, Korean Seniors Don’t Care for Bingo, is available online at Choa Magazine. She works at The Theatre Centre as Director of Communications.

Jennifer Park

Jennifer Park (Co-Writer) Jennifer Park is a Korean-Canadian writer, with experience in film festival programming, children’s animation production, and Korean-English translation. She attended rice & beans theatre’s Polyphonic Theatre residency in 2023 as a collaborator. Her collection of short stories <Close The Door When You Leave> was published via Rattlesnake Press at University of Toronto Mississauga’s Professional Writing program.