Home » ‘Squid Game’ is a worldwide sensation … “Korea’s latest cultural export”

‘Squid Game’ is a worldwide sensation … “Korea’s latest cultural export”

by Stewart Cole

Korean drama “Squid Game” is causing a stir around the world, reaching number one in audience ratings in 83 countries. It was valued as a cultural export product that well expressed the desperation in the face of inequality and lost opportunities in Korean society. Correspondent Ahn So-young.

[녹취: 드라마 효과음] “Everyone here today is on the brink of life with debt they can’t afford. “

This is a scene from the Korean drama “Squid Game”, which ranked first in the 83 countries with total ratings.

This drama is the story of a “survival game” in which 456 participants struggling with debts compete for a prize of 45.6 billion won and 38.11 million dollars.

In total, 6 games are played, and every time there is a loser in each game, 100 million won is accumulated in a large piggy bank suspended in the air, and the last winner takes home the full prize.

Dropouts are easily killed by gunfire, just like in online games.

Although life and death are decided by winning or losing the game, desperate participants who cannot return to reality participate willingly even though they know the odds of 456 to 1.

This drama has been rated as a sharper satire of actual society through straightforward acting.

It is said that the games that decide play for life are composed of “Mugunghwa Flower Blooms”, “Dalgona Sugar Pulling”, “Tug of War” and “Guguchigi” which Korean children enjoyed in the past. , showing irony.

In an interview with VOA last September, actor Lee Jung-jae, who starred in the drama, said viewers will be able to connect with their own lives by telling the stories of the participants who are on the edge. of life. .

[녹취: 이정재 씨] “When I saw the script, I felt their stories run very deep and the painful stories are all well lived, so they are very different from the survival stories of similar subjects.”

This drama is also remarkable for the fact that the marginalized and the disadvantaged have taken on the leading roles.

‘Dawn’, a North Korean refugee who settled in South Korea with her younger brother, was ripped off by a broker for a large sum of money to bring her mother, who remains in North Korea, to participate in the game.

Also represented are foreign workers who did not receive their wages on time due to their illegal immigrant status, and elderly people with dementia and brain tumors with nowhere to go.

With the drama causing worldwide sensation, Korean actors are also in the spotlight internationally.

NBC’s “The Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon” performed a video interview with four actors including Lee Jung-jae and Park Hae-soo.

In response to the host’s question about the secret of popularity, the actors chose Korean games that arouse the emotions of children and the well-expressed greed and nature of humans.

The American daily ‘The New York Times’ hailed the ‘Squid Game’ as another cultural export from Korea, saying it has captivated viewers by expressing desperation over the inequalities and lost opportunities that are setting in. in Korean society.

In an article titled “Korean Economy Anxiety Behind ‘Squid Game”, the newspaper mentioned the movie “Parasite” in 2019 and explained that this drama also pays attention to the wealth imbalance that had worsened after economic development.

In the meantime, he analyzed that this material is not limited to Korea, and won the sympathy of people in other countries, including the United States, and got viewers all over the world.

The Wall Street Journal in the United States has assessed that it is critical of reality by solving grim topics such as the gap between rich and poor in unprecedented ways through traditional children’s play.

He also observed that the “Squid Game” costume will be very popular as a Halloween costume this year.

Just attach a number to your workout clothes and you’ll be all set, so you won’t have time to prepare.

‘Forbes’ touted it as one of Netflix’s bizarre and engaging works, and ‘The New York Post’ said it was upping the drama’s tension with a creative idea.

Here’s Ahn So-young from VOA News.

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