This is a collection of plays by the late writer Eun-Yong Lee, and it contains five plays he left behind in the world.
Among them, the title piece, "We Are (Not) a Joke," premiered in 2020 by the theater troupe "Here, of course, is the Theater" and received much acclaim from critics and the public.
In particular, it was evaluated as a work that raised meaningful questions about our society, which is rife with hatred and discrimination, winning the 'Best 3 Plays of the Year' selected by the Korean Critics Association that year, 4 categories at the 57th Dong-A Theater Awards, and even the 'Baeksang Theater Award' at the 2021 Baeksang Arts Awards.

"We Are Not a Joke" is a play consisting of six stories: "Daily Death," "Menstruation," "Lee In-sil," "Metamorphosis or Metamorphosis," "The Will or We Are Not a Joke," and "And My Sister Knocked on the Door."
Each work exists independently, yet it is completed as a single, larger picture of the life of a transgender person who has not been stereotyped.
The other four plays are also an extension of the work of bringing excluded or marginalized beings to the center of the play, and their voices are uttered with greater volume and intensity as they overlap, overlap, and pile up with the author's own voice.

This book will be the first and last collection of plays by author Lee Eun-yong.
Although he left the stage of life too soon, as fellow playwright Jang Young wrote in his review, I hope that his voice will remain on the stage of those who want to live as themselves for a long time, “modifying the trajectory of someone’s life little by little,” and thus, “living a life that does not die, but continues to be revised.”

(Regardless of the actual space and order) Jinhee Park passes through the baggage checkpoint, places her bags on the counter one by one, and passes through the security checkpoint with both arms raised.
From the moment Jinhee stands in front of the security checkpoint, a strange confusion spreads among the employees.
As Jinhee passes through the security checkpoint, Employee 2 and Employee 3 make eye contact.
There is a very brief and strange exchange of glances.

Jinhee (Bangbaek) Right now, they are in a state of great worry about me.
This is a common occurrence for transgender people crossing borders.
Employee 2: Excuse me.
Are you a woman or a man?
Jinhee Am transgender.
Female to male.
Employee 2: Oh, okay.
So, which one is more comfortable to do a body check, a woman or a man?
Jinhee: It doesn't really matter.
On the comfortable side.

Employee 2 and Employee 3 make eye contact again and talk about something.

Jinhee (Bangbaek) They are trying not to be discriminatory.
Or maybe they are trying their best not to cause me any inconvenience.
The female inspector touches the body.
Calmly and businesslikely.
Ultimately, my gender and body are to be treated calmly and business-likely.
To cross the border, to menstruate, this is all that is required.
And menstruation is a joke, so you can laugh.
Smile.
(looking at the staff) Everything okay?
Employee 3: Okay, good luck.
Jinhee: Okay, thank you.

Jinhee, if you walk past the security checkpoint, you will see a sign.
'germany'.
---From "We're Not Joking - Menstruation"

Main character, my arms and legs are new.
My torso, my neck and collarbone, my cheekbones and eyebrows are all amazing.
And since I am a growing person, my body is constantly changing.
But this time it's exactly as I expected and hoped.
Yes, I will grow to be one hundred and eighty.
He will grow up to be a decent young man.
No, I'll live as a decent boy first.
I will grow up to be a tall and slender boy like a tree.
I want to run around the playground for the longest time.
No, it already is.
Even though I can't catch the ball, I'm the longest runner with long legs.
My hands are strong and firm, and whether you put a pencil in them, a ball in them, or anything else, you will get more than you expect.
Why? Because I am a being that has undergone transformation.
I'm a twenty-eight year old man who still feels like I'm sixteen.
Because I am a boy.
---From "We Are Not Joking - Metamorphosis"

Do you remember when you were sixteen? Most of us forget that age.
Sometimes we desperately try to forget those times.
There are so many things I don't want to remember.
Sixteen years old, my name is Lee Ah-seong.
Her hair is a mess, her cheeks are covered in acne, and she doesn't look pretty at all.
Her plump thighs brush against the gap between her school uniform skirts, turning her red.
There's a plate overturned on my desk.
Everyone laughs at me.
He's a crazy person who's full of superficiality.
I wanted to wear pants then.
(Like Moon Sung) I wanted to be Bang Han-rim at that time.
---From "We're Not Joking - And My Sister Knocked on the Door"

Junyoung takes out the paper and reads it.

Junyoung: A few days ago, I had a dream where I met my old lover.
In my dream, I met him when I was eighteen, when I was still a little girl, and we dated for several years.
A few more years passed, and I was now a tall and handsome young man, and I was passing by the store where I used to hang out with that man and his friends.
The friend next to me told me about that person.
“I’m sure he’s still here. Do you want to come in?” I was about to say no, but my friend had already opened the door.
There really was that person in the store.
While my friend was talking to the store owner, I sat down next to him.
“You’re handsome, just like I thought you were,” he said with a shrug.
After exchanging a few words, I remembered the old days and asked about it.
“You’re gay, so why did you meet me then?” “Because you said you were a boy.” I felt ashamed at that for thinking I didn’t want to meet him.
Even when I was an eighteen-year-old girl, he saw the young man in me and always called me a boy.
“Do you want to sleep with me?” I asked in passing before we parted ways.
He answered with a smile.
"no.
“You’re taller than me now.”
Heesu, I like this article.
Did this really happen?
Junyoung: A little bit real, a little bit fiction.
I wrote this by myself without showing it to my mom.
Heesu: What does it mean for the protagonist from when I was a little girl to become a young man?
Junyoung's gender change.
Transgender.
Heesu is magical.
Is it magical? This is the first transgender person I've ever met in my life.
Junyoung's mother was shocked twice.
I once heard that our daughter wanted to be a boy.
And then I was relieved to find out that she was meeting a guy, and then I was shocked twice when I found out that she called him hyung.
---From "Mom, Mom"

Are you okay, ghost?
Man I'll be okay.
So I was hoping my friend would come over today, so I asked him what he wanted to talk about.
Ghost Maybe it was just something trivial and nothing special.
It might have been a serious story.
But either way, it might be difficult to talk to your friend again.
Why people?
That's a ghost, I don't know where my friend is.
You're a ghost, man.
I thought we all knew that.
Ghost Actually, I am a ghost who wanders around other people's memorial tables because I wonder how other people mourn.
I came to visit today because I was curious about other people.
Didn't you come here because you liked the smell of Yankee Candle?
A Midsummer Night's Dream, you may have come because you like the smell.
Maybe because I want to stay on earth after the forty-nine days, maybe because I still want to see something more, maybe because I haven't finished washing the dishes, maybe because I haven't graduated from college.
Because there are still people who miss you, because there are many people who want to see you, because there are people who don't know how to mourn, because someone is calling you.
Could that be it?
Ghost Do my friends still want to see me?

---From "Autumn Guest"