Why laughing while crying is so Korean

By Schuyler Swenson,

B.A. Parker, Xavier Lopez, Jess Kung, Dalia Mortada, Leah Donnella, Christina Cala, Veralyn Williams, Courtney Stein, Gene Demby

Published January 15, 2025 at 9:16 AM EST

Youngmi Mayer poses next to her new book, I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying — Youngmi Mayer poses next to her new book, *I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying*

Youngmi Mayer, Korean comedian and writer, rose to social media fame for mocking casual racism white people seem to get away with in everyday life. But she also dishes out brutal critiques of Korean culture, too – the perks of being biracial. In her new memoir, I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying, Mayer writes about humor as a tool of survival for the generations of Korean women in her family, from her grandmother to her present self.

For producer Schuyler Swenson, Mayer's comedy stood out as deeply clarifying and immediately relatable to her as a Korean adoptee. They spoke about the Korean comedic tradition, inappropriate humor and why the saddest stuff is what makes them laugh the hardest.

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Schuyler Swenson

Schuyler Swenson is an audio producer, editor and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to NPR Schuyler worked at Vox Media, making podcasts for New York Magazine's The Cut, Vox.com, and Recode. She got her start in radio at WNYC for Studio 360 and later made podcasts for The New York Public Library. Swenson's taught audio journalism at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and the Transom Story Workshop. Prior to working in audio, she taught histories of immigration at the Tenement Museum. She enjoys horn sections, profanity and regional accents. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

B.A. Parker

Xavier Lopez

Xavier Lopez is a producer for Code Switch. He came to NPR from CNN Audio, where he helped produce shows such as Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and the inaugural season of Tug of War. Prior to that, Lopez worked at NPR member station WHYY in Philadelphia, where he worked on shows such as The Pulse, Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane and the daily news podcast, The Why.

Jess Kung

Jess Kung (they/them) is a production assistant on Code Switch. Previously, they interned with Code Switch and the podcast The Document from KCRW in Santa Monica. They are a graduate of Long Beach State University.

Dalia Mortada

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Leah Donnella

Leah Donnella is an editor on NPR's Code Switch team, where she helps produce and edit for the Code Switch podcast, blog, and newsletter. She created the "Ask Code Switch" series, where members of the team respond to listener questions about how race, identity, and culture come up in everyday life.

See stories by Leah Donnella

Christina Cala

Christina Cala is a producer for Code Switch. Before that, she was at the TED Radio Hour where she piloted two new episode formats — the curator chat and the long interview. She's also reported on a movement to preserve African American cultural sites in Birmingham and followed youth climate activists in New York City.

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Veralyn Williams

Veralyn Williams (she/her) is a Peabody and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist who has been asking hard questions about our world since she picked up her first microphone in 2004. Now she brings her skills (and ears) to her role as executive producer of programming at NPR.

Courtney Stein

Courtney Stein comes to NPR from the New York Times, where she helped to create the weekly podcast First Person. Prior to that, she spent over a decade at WNYC's Peabody Award-winning Radio Rookies, teaching young people to report radio documentaries about issues important to them. While at WNYC, Courtney also helped to pilot the podcast Nancy and was on the team that created the dupont-Columbia award-winning podcast Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice, which began as a radio workshop she started in a juvenile detention center in Queens.

Gene Demby

Gene Demby is the co-host and correspondent for NPR's Code Switch team.

See stories by Gene Demby