Netflix\u2019s most popular show is a dystopian drama in South Korea that takes viewers through the lives and struggles of marginalized communities. \u201cSquid Game,\u201d which just broke records for viewing with its nine-episode season, depicts hundreds of people representing different socioeconomic classes who compete against each other to win $38 million dollars by playing children\u2019s games like Tug o\u2019 War or throwing rocks at targets. The twist: losing candidates are killed live on camera as they\u2019re watched by rich idlers!<\/p>\n
Netflix has reported significant subscriber growth around the world over the past few years, but none has been as sudden or steep as in South Korea.<\/p>\n
Yoon Sung-Yoon said that South Korean youth are fascinated by squid game because it deals with issues of survival and identity, themes that resonate strongly for this ever-changing generation.<\/p>\n
As Yoon Sung-Yoon notes, squid game deals with themes of survival and identity at a time when change is happening so rapidly in South Korea that young people often feel confused about their place in society.<\/p>\n
These changes include an increasingly competitive job market, rising suicide rates linked to exam-driven stress, growing economic inequality between haves and have-nots \u2026 the list goes on. As seen through these eyes, squid game offers the promise of a quick fix to South Koreans\u2019 thirsts for justice, stability and pride.<\/p>\n
This is not squid game\u2019s first run-in with the law. The show\u2019s writer Sung Jae-Young was indicted on criminal charges in 2014 after his hit drama \u201cChosun Police,\u201d which depicted detective work at the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, emerged as an apparent product placement for his father-in-law Lee Byung-Hun, then chairman of its parent company, Il Hwa Broadcasting Corp.,<\/p>\n
As Yoon Sung-Yoon notes squid game reflects a trend among television shows that portray people who are downtrodden fighting against wicked elites to win money. He suggests squid game is reflective of South Korea\u2019s current political atmosphere, which has seen President Moon Jae-in campaigning against the \u201cold establishment.\u201d squid game came to prominence after the ousting of Park Geun-hye, who became the first democratically elected South Korean president to be impeached.<\/p>\n