SQUID GAME is a South KOREAN SURVIVAL DRAMA television series, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The series revolves around a contest where a group of 456 players, of all whom are in deep financial debt, risk their lives to play a series of deadly children’s game for the chance to win.
Hwang based on his own economic struggles, as well as the class disparity in South Korea and capitalism.
Though he had initially written it in 2009, he was unable to find a production company to fund the idea until NETFLIX took an interest around 2019 .
Squid Game was released on September 17,2021, becoming the top-viewed program in 94 countries and attracting more than 142 million member households.
Seong Gi-hun, one of the main characters, is a divorced father and indebted gambler, who lives with his elderly mother. He is invited to play a series of children’s games, accepting the offer, he is taken to an unknown location where he finds himself among 455 other players who are all deeply in debt. The players are made to wear green tracksuits and are kept under watch by masked guards. They soon will discover that losing a game results in their death.
SQUID GAME HAD AN IMPRESSIVE SUCCESS AND RECENTLY THE DIRECTOR HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THERE WILL BE A SECOND SEASON.
HOWEVER, WHY IS SQUID GAME SO LOVED BY THE PUBLIC AND ESPECIALLY BY YOUNG PEOPLE?
THE ANSWER IS VERY SIMPLE: IT exposes the reality of South Korean capitalist culture, the games portrayed are extremely easy to understand, that allow viewers to focus on the character rather than being distracted by trying to interpret the rules.
The empathy is universal because of the themes addressed: friendship, family, adversity, fate, hope for a better life, trascending the boundaries between generations.
