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I agree Chinese have much more sense of humor than Japanese and Koreans do.
Probably because different cultural cues are expected of those living in a Japanese or a Korean society. The languages of Japan and Korea also use honorifics, where politeness, showing respect and courtesy to others, and being humble are highly valued than having a good sense of humor.
Don't forget all the "potache" jokes about sex
I agree with what you said. But it can be complicated for a foreigner because jokes often use a lot of cultural references.
Thanks! I'm running off so I can't read all of them now, but the first one about the sea turtle, reminds me a bit of the play on word jokes we have.
"A string walks into a bar and orders a drink. Sorry, we don't serve strings, says the barman. That's discrimination, says the string. So the string walks into the bathroom and ties himself in a knot and messes up his end. He comes back out and approaches the bar and again attempts to order a drink. Aren't you that string I just refused to serve? asks the barman. No. I'm a frayed knot."
That's my impression about Germans, too. In my initial post in mentioning East Europeans I had in mind countries like Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, etc.. Russia may be very different from the rest of East Europe. Still, most Russians I've encountered seem to be very serious and hardly smile.
Russians will not smile just for the sake of being polite - only foolish people/ Americans do that. but no sense of humor? Hardly! Russians love to tell anekdoty, which can be funny, intellectual, and extremely clever. They can be quite low-brow and crude, too. It all depends on your mood and the company you are with. Russia has a rich history of comedic novels and movies, too. Slapstick and satire are especially well done in Russia - check out Irony of Fate, The Diamond Arm, Twelve Chairs, Operation 'Y' and the adventures of Shurik - so many good options.
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but no sense of humor? Hardly! Russians love to tell anekdoty, which can be funny, intellectual, and extremely clever. They can be quite low-brow and crude, too. It all depends on your mood and the company you are with. 
Russia has a rich history of comedic novels and movies, too. Slapstick and satire are especially well done in Russia - check out Irony of Fate, The Diamond Arm, Twelve Chairs, Operation 'Y' and the adventures of Shurik - so many good options.
