Game for a laugh? Comics from Korea and overseas will be testing their mettle this weekend.

On Saturday, expat comedians from across Asia will compete for a small trophy decorated by a bobblehead figurine of Kim Jong-il in the Seoul International Comedy Competition.

The competition is organized by Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province-based expat Dan Wiberg, who invited comedians from across Asia to enter and will also be hosting the event.

After whittling the applicants down to 10 competitors, the result was a 50-50 split, with half of the performers based in Korea and the rest coming from China, Japan and the United States.

He got the idea after attending a small stand-up competition in Daegu.

“I thought we could do something like that in Seoul but just on a bigger scale, you know, try to get people from all over Asia,” he says.

While he thinks there might be a few competitions in Malaysia or Singapore, Wiberg says there aren’t many similar events in Asia, but that stand-ups like him were always keen to try their material at open mics when they travel.

“People traveling are always looking to try their material in different countries. It’s really exciting,” he says.

Paul Smith is one of those flying into Korea for the event. As the sole contender from outside Asia, he learned about the contest from his time in Korea, where he got into comedy while serving in the U.S. Air Force.

“It’s where I made lifelong friendships, enriched my half-Korean heritage, fell in love with a beautiful woman, then cheated on her mercilessly with comedy,” he says. “She probably will never forgive me, but comedy and I are still together and doing pretty well.”

While he says his main aim for the event is to make other comics jealous, he also has a message for expats who are serious about comedy.

“I want those comics to know that they can continue their comedy careers back home,” he said, mentioning other Stand Up Seoul alumni such as Bryan Aylward, Adam Palmeter and Albert Escobedo.

Smith himself is doing comedy in the States.

“I’m part of a great scene here in Denver,” he says. “(There’s) a lot of great talent and support in a booming comedy culture here (in the States), as well as newly legal activities that could get someone ‘Shawshank Redemption’-ed in Korea without an Andy Dufresne option.”

Jonathan Burrello also got into comedy after he arrived in Korea. He tries to give a surreal take on simple ideas to highlight things about society or morality, but his hopes for the competitions are much more basic than Smith's.