Dancers wearing Squid Game costumes perform during a fan event for the global premiere of the Netflix series "Squid Game" Season 2 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Monday. AFP-Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
The survival thriller horror television series "Squid Game," released on Netflix in 2021, gained immense global popularity by depicting the story of 456 people invited to participate in a series of deadly games for a prize of 45.6 billion won ($32 million).
This series, with its provocative subject matter and Korean children's game-inspired competitions, captivated foreign viewers with its unique narrative, which played a major role in its global success. However, it is widely acknowledged that the series' unflinching spotlight on social issues, such as inequality due to wealth disparity, not only in Korea but also in most modern capitalist societies, was another key element in its worldwide acclaim.
As if caught in a cruel twist of fate, when the public was finally offered a peek into the second season of "Squid Game" with a press conference and premiere event on Monday, Korea found itself in a state of extreme political chaos due to the Dec. 3 martial law fiasco.
Although the enforcement of martial law was swiftly rejected by the National Assembly within just a few hours, Korea, widely regarded as a symbol of a peaceful democracy in Asia, is now embroiled in political turmoil.
Major international media outlets from the United States and Europe are commenting that the political emergency caused by Korea's martial law is shocking, especially with the country's recent cultural successes due to the popularity of K-pop, K-dramas and K-movies being at an all-time high.
Foreign media outlets have pointed out what they see as a stark contrast between the nation’s global cultural influence and its internal political struggles.
Despite these political challenges, will this political emergency weaken the power of Korean content, which deals with creative and universally relatable themes and has been positively influencing global audiences?
Rather, this reporter believes that Korean cultural content, or what we commonly call K-content, has the ability to freely expose even such political turmoil, potentially driving social change.
As demonstrated by the first season of "Squid Game," Korean content has gained worldwide recognition for its honest depiction of the ills of Korean society, thereby sparking social discussions.
As seen in the 2022 Netflix series "The Glory," which dealt with school violence and directly pointed out negative aspects of the Korean education system, and the 2019 film "Parasite," a black comedy addressing polarization and wealth disparity in society here — cultural content actively utilizes negative issues in Korea to sound a wake-up call to society, playing a significant role in bringing about positive change.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, director of the "Squid Game" series, said that while promoting Season 2 the week after Korea's martial law crisis was a significant burden, the new season will also address points similar to the country's current situation, reflecting social and cultural issues.
He also emphasized that the problems and realities of Korean society that Season 2 will blatantly portray are not significantly different from social issues occurring around the world.
While various factors contribute to the global success of K-content, such as spectacular production and novel subject matter, its essence lies in its willingness to confront social issues head-on and effectively, thereby evoking empathy and solidarity among viewers worldwide.
It is expected that "Squid Game" Season 2, which will be released on Dec. 26, will go beyond simply exposing social issues to convey a message of seeking solutions and moving forward together. When delivering such messages, the power of cultural content will shine even brighter.
English (United States) ·