Questions That Outlast the Laughter

A witty remark unsettles familiar assumptions. These stories make us pause in the middle of a laugh.

Old Min overturns others' thinking through questions and answers; the magistrate in The Tale of a Yangban uses contracts to expose what lies inside a social title. In The Horse Brokers, the gap between the language of friendship and private motives becomes the subject of debate. Before accepting an eloquent character's conclusion, look at how the listener responds. This reading compares whom comic language targets and whether it turns back on the speaker too.

A suggested reading order

01 Start here

02 Read next

03 Read next