Collaborative Project
“LAUGHING MUSHROOM/
웃음버섯 (useum beoseot)
”
[working title]
LOGLINE:
LOGLINE:
A new animation of an old Korean folktale about Buddhist nuns hunting for mushrooms.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Laughing Mushroom* is a new 3-minute animated film in development, targeted for its NYC premiere around Chuseok (September 25, 2026). It is based on an ancient Korean folktale about an adventurous group of Buddhist nuns who, during a festival, wander off to forage nearby. They find some enticing mushrooms and bring them back to their temple where they prepare a large delicious pot of mushroom stew. Soon afterwards, they experience uncontrollable giggles and giddiness, having consumed "laughter mushrooms," or mildly psychoactive fungi. The film closes with the nuns joyfully dancing and laughing.
* This film’s title is a reference to Laughing Gym mushrooms.
Laughing Mushroom* is a new 3-minute animated film in development, targeted for its NYC premiere around Chuseok (September 25, 2026). It is based on an ancient Korean folktale about an adventurous group of Buddhist nuns who, during a festival, wander off to forage nearby. They find some enticing mushrooms and bring them back to their temple where they prepare a large delicious pot of mushroom stew. Soon afterwards, they experience uncontrollable giggles and giddiness, having consumed "laughter mushrooms," or mildly psychoactive fungi. The film closes with the nuns joyfully dancing and laughing.
Beyond its accessible charm and humor, this film playfully uses mushrooms as a window onto eye-catching yet lesser-seen aspects of Korean culture: its rich Buddhist and mycological traditions (culinary, shamanistic, and medicinal). It also offers a glimpse into the communal spaces of foraging and cooking, and the earthy delight in the deliciousness of the everyday, not just the divine. Transcending the well-known darkness and traumas of Korean history, this film presents its lighter side in its scenes of matrisocial merriment. Circumventing 3D animation's heavily commercial applications, this film is an experimentation with digital techniques in order to expand its language, to create a warmer animated look that bridges the gap between handicraft and digital art, to underscore the craft at the heart of traditional Korean art.
* This film’s title is a reference to Laughing Gym mushrooms.
ANIMATION TESTS
Experimentation in Blender geometry nodes based on the ‘dancheong’ pattern, decorative painted stylings used in Korean temples and buildings.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ash Suh (she/they), a 2D and 3D animator and artist, and Maya Han (she/her), a filmmaker who has studied Buddhism in Korea, are the co-creators and co-directors of Laughing Jjim. Through this project, these Korean American artists present a fresh, fun, and illuminating glimpse into the richness of their cultural background to new audiences, to celebrate the spirit of delight, collaboration, and community at the heart of both Korean culture and their own artistic process.
CONTACT