Squid Game has swept through the entire world like a broom and has left all of it’s viewers in shock, admiration, and with a new perception on Korean film. With 132 million views on Netflix, and a skyrocketing fame on all social media and culture itself, Squid Game is still going strong. It is still on the top 10 (second after ‘You’) on Netflix for more than a month.
Make one visit to any social media platform and you’ll see at least one reference to the k-drama from people playing the childhood games the cast competes with in the show to dressing up as one of the characters for Halloween and even a “Squid Game Workout.”
Sophomore Dulce Martinez was one of those people who got introduced to Squid Game not because of Netflix but through social media and friends.
“I heard about Squid Game from my friend, but I didn’t think anything of it until that same day I seen it all over Tik Tok and decided to watch it,” she explained.
As more people began talking about this enigmatic new show, even here in Parkdale, students would find themselves conversing with their classmates about the show and whether they have watched it or not. Junior Allison Garcia couldn’t resist the show as it kept popping up on her social media and everyone around her was talking about it.
“I first heard about ‘Squid Game’ from TikTok,” she said. “It was the talk of the month and it was video after video of the same show […] I was getting a lot of spoilers already so I decided to watch it. Now or never.”
Even in the Mall of Prince George’s, you will see Squid Game sweat suits and logo t-shirts. In Korea, people are selling dalgona coffee candy like warm bread. If you search up Squid Game on Google 724,000,000 in (0.73) results will pop up. It would be foolish to deny the fact that ‘Squid Game’ has made a monumental impact on our culture globally and even locally.
As time passed more and more people gave in and began watching the show and recommending to others or talking about their favorite characters and parts as well as their not so favorite parts.
“I would recommend [this show]!,” said junior Vanessa Remirez-Hernandez. “The games make it interesting. I would also recommend watching it with your families. My parents loved it.”
Ramirez recalls coming home to her parents already done with the show because they couldn’t keep from waiting any longer. “Traitors!” she called them.
A huge debate also sparked as Squid Game rose to global fame. “Is it overhyped?” is what some people began asking themselves. Now, the question begs to be answered, is Squid Game over-hyped? Everyone is entitled to an opinion; for some it is, and for others it’s not. Putting into consideration much Squid Game went through before Netflix placed a bean of faith on it, the drama is not overhyped one bit. Those who have watched it may agree.
“H*LL NAW!! The producer had been rejected so many times and worked hard to portray what reality is like,” said junior Rayanna Morris. “People are selfish and would do anything for money. That is the most basic yet most real statement ever.”
She does think, though, that Squid Game deserves all the hype. “The show shows what real life is like, just exaggerated a bit,” she explained. “But it deserves all the hype and more. People are just insensitive to the truth.”
Squid Game isn’t overhyped. The plot is perfectly done and the characters fit perfectly into their roles. The performance of the actors is phenomenal and their dedication and delivery leaves no room to differ.
The director/writer, Hwang Dong Hyuk, wrote “Squid Game” more than a decade ago when he was a 38-year-old broke man still living with his mother and in that time, he envisioned the story that has now swept over the entire world. His work was rejected for years because of its peculiar and violent take until it was finally approved 12 years later. During filming, Dong Hyuk lost six of his teeth along with his sleep because of how grueling it was.
In Squid Game, the characters who are in exorbitant amounts of debt, play children’s games for a price of $38.4 million. However, the one catch is that if they lose, they pay with their lives. “Red Light, Green Light is a kind of game that can be played by a lot of people at the same time. It’s also one of the most simple games. So we thought it could give the most shocking plot twist at the end.” Says Hwang Dong Hyuk as he speaks about the sets for each game.
Each and everyone of the games had their own set. Among the most impactful games are the first one and the marble game. “The first game, It was the most difficult and scary thing to film. It was like seeing 456 characters all move according to choreography, like watching a K-pop band because all these people had to move and stop in unison.” Recalls Hwang Dong Hyuk, “Should I be sad? Should I be shocked? Is this beautiful? Is this funny? I wanted the audience to feel confused visually.”
The stages took an incredible amount of planning and detail too. Art director, Chae Kyoung-Sun proposed a warehouse concept. So other than treating the players like people, she suggested the contestants be presented like objects piled on the warehouse shelves.
“Even the person on top feels this terror,” she explained. We needed an impactful object so we took the ladder form.”
The art director recalls spending the most time on the marble game-scene because lighting, and even the level of how much sand was put on the floor was taken into consideration.
In the marble game the players are asked to choose a partner and each one of the main characters pairs with the person they are most close to by this time. They chose the people they trust the most in hopes that they’ll fight together against someone else but to their surprise, they end up fighting each other in a marble game. Because of this reason, the set for this game was the most time consuming. Everything was thought through, from the level of the sand on the floor to the details on the dooors in the alleyways.
In the marble game the players are asked to choose a partner and each one of the main characters pairs with the person they are most close to by this time. They chose the people they trust the most in hopes that they’ll fight together against someone else but to their surprise, they end up fighting each other in a marble game. Because of this reason, the set for this game was the most time consuming. Everything was thought through, from the level of the sand on the floor to the details on the dooors in the alleyways.
The actors outside of the drama itself worked incredibly hard to fall into their roles. One prime example is Heo Sung Tae, who plays Jang Deok Su, the gangster that every viewer seems to dislike.
Heo Sung-Tae recalls having to gain weight drastically in order to fit the character of a strong bully/gangster.
“I gained 15-17 kg in one month. I think that this is the first time I gained so much weight in such a short period of time.” says Heo Sung Tae, Deok Su in Squid Game. “The muscles on my calf tore and also my knees hurt. Overall, my health depleted.”
Jung Ho-yeon, the actress and model who plays Kang Sae-Byeok actually broke into sobbing tears during one of the scenes even after they had wrapped up because of how immersed she was in her role.
“Sae Byeok got so much attention because of her beautiful appearance and because of how much passion and emotion was shown through her character. Her empathetic, yet survival attitude is what gained my attention.” Remarks, Junior Isha Sesay on Jung Ho-Yeon’s performance in ‘Squid Game.
For Junior Allison Garcia the most memorable character was Han Mi-nyeo, the player 212.
“Everyone did a great job doing their role and portraying the characters amazingly, especially the lady,” said Garcia as she recalls Kim Joo-ryeong’s portrayal of Han Mi-nyeo. “That annoying one that barely anyone liked. I love her character. She did what she needed to [do to] protect herself and get further in the game. And I mean, if any actor can actually upset you that much in a show then they’re doing a great job.”
Squid Game certainly evokes childhood nostalgia as well. I myself watched the show with my mother and as we watched the games the characters played as the fellow players were brutally killed for losing, my mother and I had an entire conversation about one of the games, the marble game as she used to play the game in El Salvador. We conversed on who would possibly win in the tug of war, and reminisced on eating candy as a child during the dalgona candy game.
It was surely the writer’s purpose to evoke those feelings into his audience by making great use of the character’s emotions to show what can happen when greed reaches a certain level where it’s a life or death situation. He also made sure to maintain the characters realistic by making all of them from different backgrounds and stages in life yet all have the one thing in common, they are incredibly deep in debt, for many different reasons, of course.
The relationships formed throughout the series is what leaves the audience unresolved when the ending comes and these relationships are the only thing left to cling to. It may be sad but it’s what makes these characters the most memorable. How relatable and humanistic they are when put in such a tough position. By the end of the show, one no longer is thinking about the prize money because it has all fallen down to the love and fondness each character has made with the other. Allt thats left is despair ,fear, and sadness. Humanity or hope for humanity pandora’s box. At some point money is no longer important when it’s a life or death situation, it’s so much more deeper and harder than that.
“I hope there’s a season 2 because of the way it ended…and if it does happen to come out I’m definitely watching it.” -Anonymous
Whether you watched the K-drama or not, it is undeniable that it hasn’t made any sort of impact on the world this month. It has opened a new world for those who weren’t once aware of asia n cinema, music, and entertainment in general. As Squid Game gains its peak and slowly is forgotten, more asian shows are soon to be released that may interest you like Alice in Borderland, a japanese survival thriller series. Sweet Home, a Korean thriller based on the popular webtoon, Sweet Home. Both on Netflix. A new upcoming thriller that already has k-drama fans talking is Hellbound which will be released on November 21, also on Netflix, of course.
