Netflix’s most popular show is a dystopian drama in South Korea that takes viewers through the lives and struggles of marginalized communities. “Squid Game,” 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’s games like Tug o’ War or throwing rocks at targets. The twist: losing candidates are killed live on camera as they’re watched by rich idlers!
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.
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.
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.
These changes include an increasingly competitive job market, rising suicide rates linked to exam-driven stress, growing economic inequality between haves and have-nots … the list goes on. As seen through these eyes, squid game offers the promise of a quick fix to South Koreans’ thirsts for justice, stability and pride.
This is not squid game’s first run-in with the law. The show’s writer Sung Jae-Young was indicted on criminal charges in 2014 after his hit drama “Chosun Police,” 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.,
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’s current political atmosphere, which has seen President Moon Jae-in campaigning against the “old establishment.” squid game came to prominence after the ousting of Park Geun-hye, who became the first democratically elected South Korean president to be impeached.
Prioritizing online consumption over television has changed the way young Koreans watch squid game. Ten episodes are currently available for streaming on Netflix in Japan, followed by 11 more that will become available later this month. The show was originally scheduled to air on KBS2 TV, a public broadcasting channel that typically commands high viewership among older South Korean audiences. But it ended up being sold to Netflix at an unusually high price tag of 30 billion won, or $26 million.
It was the channel’s decision to move squid game from its regular KBS1 channel to KBS2, which targets middle and high school students with entertainment shows like squid game that has proved most disturbing for parents and educators in South Korea. Squid game is Netflix’s first Korean original series.
The writer Sung Jae-Young was indicted on criminal charges in 2014 after his hit drama “Chosun Police,” 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.,
“Squid game reflects a trend among television shows that portray people who are downtrodden fighting against wicked elites to win money. Squid game is reflective of South Korea’s current political atmosphere” squid game came to prominence after the ousting of Park Geun-hye, who became the first democratically elected South Korean president to be impeached.
Prioritizing online consumption over television has changed the way young Koreans watch squid game. Squid game’s writer Sung Jae-Young was indicted on criminal charges in 2014 after his hit drama “Chosun Police,” 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. squid game is Netflix’s first Korean original series.”
