Comedian Lee Su-ji, wearing a Moncler down jacket, portrays a fictional Daechi-dong mother on her YouTube channel. Captured from YouTube.
Comedian Lee Su-ji is taking the internet by storm with her poignant, relatable parodies of people you meet every day. Known for her meticulous character portrayals, Lee has captivated audiences by humorously reflecting on Korean society — from education-obsessed mothers in Seoul's affluent Daechi-dong neighborhood to social media influencers with exaggerated sales pitches.
Her recent YouTube video, which satirizes the pressure-cooker world of private education in Daechi-dong, Gangnam District — featuring the iconic Moncler down jacket, known as the unofficial uniform of the neighborhood's status-conscious mothers — has propelled her to newfound fame, earning praise for its hyper-realistic humor.
Titled “Human Documentary: My Child is My Life – A Day in the Life of Jamie's Mom, Lee So-dam," the 10-minute video mimics the format of KBS's popular documentary series "Screening Humanity."
Uploaded on her channel on Feb. 4, the video quickly went viral, amassing 6.78 million views within 20 days — 15 times the number of her subscribers — and garnering over 15,000 comments.
Many viewers praised Lee's spot-on portrayal of a “Daechi mom,” a term referring to parents in the district known for their all-out approach to their children's education.
Lee plays an affluent full-time mother shuttling her 4-year-old son between after-school academies, munching on gimbap in her Porsche like a busy celebrity, calling her child by his English name and speaking in a soft, refined tone sprinkled with foreign words while boasting trivial achievements.
The video's cultural impact has extended beyond humor, sparking conversations in online communities of parents. “Can I wear this Moncler down jacket in Daechi-dong?” one user asked, reflecting the newfound self-consciousness some mothers feel about their fashion choices.
Lee's outfit — a glossy Moncler Parnaiba long down jacket and a Chanel Gabrielle handbag — embodied the so-called “Gangnam mom uniform,” long associated with status and wealth.
After the video went viral, secondhand platforms were flooded with listings of similar Moncler jackets, cementing Lee's reputation as a “trend-ender” who singlehandedly altered the item's image.
Daechi-dong is the heart of South Korea's private education industry, home to thousands of hagwon (cram schools), with its parents often portrayed as fiercely competitive and status-conscious.
Lee Su-ji portrays a well-known influencer on her YouTube channel. Captured from her YouTube
Beyond simple impersonations
Lee's comedic success lies in her meticulous preparation. Known for her sketches on the streaming platform Coupang Play's "SNL Korea," she launched her YouTube channel "Hot Issue Ji" in December, gaining attention with spot-on parodies of everyday characters.
Her previous viral hit mimicked social media influencers who host group-buying live streams, capturing their exaggerated sales pitches.
With lines like “One cup of this detox drink will flush out all the swelling and toxins in your body — 360 degrees!” and “Drinking from a wine glass makes you look so elegant, doesn't it?" the video pokes fun at the influencers' antics.
Viewers especially enjoyed the part where Lee brushes off complaints about defective products by casually telling customers to “contact the customer service center."
Comments flooded in, with fans calling her performance “painfully accurate” and joking that “Lee Su-ji must have a degree in anthropology.”
Unlike typical impressions that focus on mimicking speech or expressions, Lee's approach involves thorough character-building. Even when filming "SNL Korea," where she receives scripts just a day before shooting, Lee practices each character's tone, habits and gestures up to 50 times to ensure authenticity.
Her dedication allows her to capture not only the characters themselves but also the world they inhabit. In the video mimicking social media influencers, she humorously compresses the influencer experience into a 10-minute clip, revealing their sales tactics, inflated product claims, and the dynamics between influencers and their followers — scenarios familiar to anyone who has watched a livestream or shopped online.
Kim Heon-sik, a visiting professor of social and cultural studies at Jungwon University, said, “Lee stands out by parodying ordinary people rather than celebrities or politicians.
Her "Daechi Mom" video resonated because she not only captured the character's mindset but also reflected the viewers' perspective. By depicting an entire lifestyle rather than focusing on isolated traits, she creates relatable and comprehensive portrayals that set her apart.
Lee Su-ji's parody performances include portrayals of Dr. Oh Eun-young (top right), actress Kim Go-eun (bottom right), and Kim Ju-ae, daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (bottom left). Captured Coupang Play and JTBC
Focusing on realism, not cheap laughs
Despite her exaggerated portrayals, Lee's humor rarely comes across as mean-spirited because she focuses on affluent characters rather than marginalized groups. Her emphasis on authenticity over forced humor has been her guiding principle since the start of her career.
Reflecting on her early days, Lee once said, “I wanted to make people laugh with my skills, not by relying on so-called ‘fat jokes'.”
In an interview with Vogue, she also said, “Observation is part of my daily life. If I see someone with unique traits, I'll watch them intently — even if it makes them uncomfortable — whether I'm at a restaurant or in an elevator.”
Lee's ability to consistently produce fresh content without rehashing old characters is another key to her enduring popularity. Recently, she went viral again by parodying actress Cha Joo-young from tvN's drama "The Queen Who Crowns," humorously reenacting a scene where Cha kindly sends a fan home in a taxi.
Acknowledging the need to stay relevant, Lee said on a variety show, “Working alongside younger actors on 'SNL Korea' sometimes highlights the generation gap when it comes to what's trending. I constantly ask younger people what's popular so I can come up with fresh ideas. That's how I stay inspired to create new content.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.