Gag Concert turns Odysseus' homecoming into an izakaya run

"Home Is an Izakaya"... Wordplay That Reverses a Mythic Setup

KBS 2TV's comedy program Gag Concert presented a Chuseok special segment that comically reconstructed Greek mythology. In the episode broadcast on September 20, 2026, the cast staged a comedy built around Homer's epic The Odyssey.

The performers acted out the situation facing Odysseus and his companions as they tried to return home after the 10-year Trojan War. Odysseus appeared as a hero of that war and introduced himself as the king of Ithaca, but the sketch turned the premise of his homeland into a comic reversal through the dialogue.

The central joke came from the idea that Odysseus was supposed to go back to Ithaca in Greece. The cast linked the place name "Ithaca" to "izakaya," turning the hero's homecoming into a suggestion that they go to a Japanese-style pub for a drink instead of returning home. They also folded everyday details, including talk of going to the airport, into the mythic situation to draw laughs.

An Unpredictable Turn With a Siren and a One-Eyed Monster

The sketch then moved into scenes involving two dangers from myth: the witch Siren and the one-eyed monster, the Cyclops. Drawing on the mythic setup that anyone who hears the Siren's singing will fall into the sea and die, the cast played a scene in which the characters tried to tie themselves up so they would not listen to the Siren's voice.

The one-eyed monster appeared next and confronted the cast. The performer playing the monster revealed that the eye was the character's weak point, setting up a scene in which the eye came under attack. The monster character complained about the pain of being hit in the eye, giving the scene both tension and comedy at the same time.

Odysseus Reunites With Penelope in a Twist Ending

In the latter part of the sketch, Odysseus was shown reuniting with Penelope, the queen of Ithaca. Odysseus expressed how much he had missed his wife and welcomed the reunion, but Penelope did not recognize him as her husband, sending the story in a direction different from the myth's familiar ending.

The cast continued the dialogue of their characters while also comically exposing the circumstances of the filming set. The sketch closed with acting that moved back and forth across the boundary between stage and production site, including a moment in which Odysseus looked toward the camera and asked for a solo shot.