Will We Ever Belong? Foreign-Born Comedians Get Honest About Trying To Fit In Iceland

Trying to adapt to a new country and (hopefully) integrate into a community you didn’t grow up with isn’t easy — especially as an adult. In Iceland, once the initial excitement wears off, you’re hit first by the horrible weather and ridiculous prices. Then comes the loneliness. No network of frænkur to call on weekends, no confirmations or naming ceremonies to attend, no old menntaskóli friends to lean on when you need to move apartments. Add to that the occasional (scratch that, more like permanent) existential spiral courtesy of Útlendingastofnun, watching jobs you’re absolutely fucking qualified for go to someone’s third cousin, and things rarely running on time because, well, “þetta reddast.”

It’s not an experience most people born here have to navigate. But it’s daily life for almost every other person — myself included — in the audience of Belonging?, an English-language stand-up show that took place on April 4, created and performed largely by foreign-born comedians.

From NY to Hvítársíða

The idea of the show goes back to Daniel Byung-Chan Roh, a Korean American, who moved to Iceland with his Icelandic wife five years ago. “We went from New York City to Hvítársíða,” he says with a smile, recalling how he relocated during Covid and lived in his wife’s family cabin.

“That was the idea. Just a show, where people like us could talk about trying to fit in Iceland without feeling burdensome, and maybe even celebrated.”

Now a teacher at the International School of Iceland, Dan started dabbling in stand-up about eight years ago back in Virginia, then performed in New York. Here in Iceland, he has done three shows at Reykjavík Fringe and occasionally does open mic nights. “I’ve been doing stand-up semi-regularly, but I got two kids now, and I don’t like staying up late,” he laughs.

Dan got the idea for Belonging? after performing with R.E.C Arts, a collective spotlighting diverse voices. Through them, he heard Salurinn was looking for more diverse shows.

“I emailed them, they took a meeting, and then I tried to convince them. It was really easy, because they were like, ‘Yeah, that sounds great,’” he recalls. Salurinn took a chance on Dan and what he’d been brewing in his head. “They were really cool and gave us a Friday night slot, which freaked me out — it’s a 300-seat venue. I was like, ‘You’re nuts.’”

From there, Dan reached out to a few comics he had in mind, and the ball really started rolling. Finding comics that share an immigrant experience was fairly easy. According to Dan, the comedy scene in Reykjavík is quite fragmented — some comics perform in Icelandic, others in English, and the two groups rarely cross paths. “I feel like I know every single comic that does it in English, because there aren’t that many of us,” he says.

Photo by Art Bicnick

The first Belonging? show took place a year and a half ago and received a great response. Dan and five comics packed Salurinn almost to the brim, with even Eliza Reid, former First Lady of Iceland, and an immigrant herself, in the crowd.

The strange things about living in Iceland — things that make you question being here in the first place really hit home with the audience. “Sometimes in comedy, people might think it’s woke or whatever, if you talk about [these things],” says Dan. “I don’t think it is. It’s just my human experience, and I try to talk about it because I think about it all the time.”

We kind of like it here

On June 6, Belonging? moves from Kópavogur to the iconic Tjarnarbíó theatre in downtown Reykjavík for a one-hour performance as part of Reykjavík Fringe — “which is pretty crazy for me,” Dan admits. With just a few minutes per comedian, the audience will get a rapid-fire taste of stories from Mauricio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic), Dan Nava (Venezuela), Joy (Turkey), Mette Kousholt (Denmark) and Huw Jones (Wales).

Dan says one can expect jokes about marrying into an Icelandic family and all the quirks that come with it, navigating the dating scene as a divorcee with two kids, what changes when you get the coveted Icelandic passport, and the usual immigrant woes. But if you have been to a Belonging? show before, you’d have noticed it’s not just a laundry list of immigrant frustrations. These struggles are cleverly contrasted with the things that make Iceland special — and genuinely, a pretty great place to live.

What stuck with me from April’s show, for example, was how American-born comedian Glo spoke about the privilege of feeling safe in Iceland, comparing it to her native USA. So if you think Strætó sucks (which most of the time it does), you just haven’t taken a Chicago subway packed with rats on a weekday.

“The fact that we’re here is proof that we see this place as a place worth living in,” Dan says. “Do you know what I mean? We obviously see the beauty.”

Photo by Art Bicnick

He’s quick to add, with a grin, that while it’s easier to poke at the negatives, “At least, we try to take the bad things that happen and make them funny.”

It’s hard to truly imagine what it’s like walking in someone else’s shoes. But at Belonging?, surrounded by a group of people whose stories at least faintly resemble your own, it becomes almost cathartic. “That was the idea,” Dan nods. “Just a show, where people like us could talk about trying to fit in Iceland without feeling burdensome, and maybe even celebrated. And it worked.”

Let’s get talking

In a few weeks, Dan is taking his Icelandic citizenship test. His family, his work, his growing circle of friends, his brainchild Belonging? — they’re all here. Still, something’s missing.

“I don’t think I’ll ever belong here,” he says. “It’s fine, I made my choice. I just hope my sons do, but they don’t look like blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids. They look Korean. I know that Iceland’s changing, but I worry about that.”

“If we talk about xenophobia, racism and what Iceland is, if we make people laugh, they will have the conversation.”

According to Registers Iceland, 20% of people who reside in Iceland are foreigners.

“We’re gonna be more,” says Dan. He’s convinced the goal of Belonging? isn’t just for foreigners to feel seen and welcome — it’s also a way to start a conversation with Icelanders. “I know it’s not funny to say that, it’s a little bit serious, but I think people listen when you make them laugh, and then they’ll also talk about things that normally they wouldn’t want to talk about,” he says. “If we talk about xenophobia, racism and what Iceland is, if we make them laugh, people will have the conversation. That’s the goal of the show for me.”

“It’s a comedy show about how Iceland is changing,” Dan puts it simply. “It’s honest, it’s silly, it’s a little weird — but everyone is welcome. We just want to stay. It’s a show about why us being here is good.”

Photo by Art Bicnick

RVK Fringe runs from June 2-8 at various venues across Reykjavík. Belonging? takes place on June 6 at 21:00 at Tjarnarbíó. Full programme and tickets: rvkfringe.is

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