Front Burner - Squid Game's not-so-subtle message about capitalism

Episode Date: October 6, 2021

The survival drama Squid Game has gotten international attention for its focus on economic inequality. But UCLA’s Suk-Young Kim explains that this globally relatable horror show is also uniquely Korean in its approach.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Jamie Poisson. So like a lot of you, I have just started watching Squid Game. It is, it is really good. It's about a group of people who enter into this mysterious high-stakes series of children's games

where if you win, you make millions of dollars. And if you lose, you die. The one thing all the contestants have in common, they're all in serious, serious debt. Think Hunger Games meets Battle Royale. It was created by the acclaimed South Korean director Hwang Dong-hyuk, and he says that he wrote it in 2009 and got rejected by studio after studio because it was too grotesque and unrealistic. after studio because it was too grotesque and unrealistic. Now Netflix execs say that it's on track to be their biggest show of all time. So what exactly is it and why is it so popular?

Today, we're talking to Professor Sukyung Kim at UCLA about why the show has resonated with audiences around the world. She says it's no surprise that Squid Game is able to touch on some of our biggest anxieties. And it goes back to how Korea's own history is reflected in art and culture. And we should say there are some spoilers ahead here. Hi, Sukyung. Thank you so much for making the time to come onto the show and talk with us today. Thanks for having me.

I wonder if maybe we could start with a brief introduction to the premise of the show and if these are common images or narratives in the Korean film and TV world. So the show is really grotesque in a way that it kind of presents a marriage between these very fun childhood games with deadly consequences. So the show is basically based on a premise that this secret host of the show will kind of gather desperate people who have large amount of debt, and they're so desperate that they'll do anything to win a large sum of cash. I'm broke. What are you talking about?

I gave you everything I made chauffeuring. Oh, please. That petty change? Hey, we can't even pay your loans monthly interest off with that. The format of the game is based on the winner take it all. And the consequence of losing is by giving up your life. It's kind of, you know, fantasy thriller genre that you don't see in everyday Korean dramas. But I think Deeper Message is resonating with very familiar theme of exposing

injustice and the harsh condition of life for people who don't have anything to succeed in this life. So in that sense, the TV drama is very much resonating with Parasite. I was just going to say that, right? The Oscar-winning film that portrays this deep wealth gap between this extremely rich family and then this very poor family. But for people who don't know much about South Korea, can you explain the current economic situation in which these kind of stories, Squid Game and Parasite are being produced? Yeah, I mean, in a way, the most grotesque fantasy thriller has become reality in Korea. And I would say to a large extent,

for a vast majority of people living anywhere in the globe today. The unemployment rate in South Korea, especially for young people, and the declining birth rate, and just the kind of more or less depressed kind of outlook into the future has really made this drama look like almost documentary in a certain way. I think it's very significant to remind the listeners about what director Hwang Dong-hyuk said about the show. He actually worked on this scenario in 2008 to 2009. And he said in an interview that back then, nobody wanted to produce this bizarre and violent show, which seems like a really unlikely story for many people.

But he said that today, what's being portrayed in the show has become part of our reality. So I think a lot of South Koreans, as well as global viewers, connect to the show on a very visceral level. The biggest issue is work. Housing is next. Even if you have a good place to live, housing costs have gone up a lot. Very few people I know are able to save and there's a sense of dejection. How do you think that people's experiences during the pandemic have played into this at all? Oh, I think it has so much to do with the pandemic. I mean, the increasing wealth gap that we have seen has really, you know, hyped up pressure. I think the polarization of the rich getting richer and

the poor getting poorer has been really intensified under pandemic. And I think people also kind of see the imagery of pandemic with all these extensive use of mask, the sense of contagion, and the sense of surveillance and control. I think all those levels of this detail that we see in drama resonate really closely with everyday reality under pandemic. Yeah, yeah, it's a really good point. One question I had for you is, what do you think of the pairing of this hyper-unequal economic society we see in this show with these children's games that they're using, which is part of the game that people have to play where they either win or they give up their lives?

You will be playing Red Light, Green Light. If your movement is detected afterwards, you will be eliminated. Red light, green light? The thing we did as kids on the playground? Let me repeat the rule. I mean, that's such a cruel pairing. And I think the kind of dreamlike world of pretty visuals turning into slaughterhouse also speaks to that theme. I think the visuals

are incredible in this show. And I think it just shows the cruelty of having any hope. Because, you know, I mean, when you are a child playing those games, I mean, whether you win or lose, it's fun. I mean, as one of the main characters in the drama says it, everything that you do is fun when you're a child. But I think by extending that kind of joyful outlook into this brutal fun is that, you know, it's a kind of phase that they will kind of grow out of. So there's no grave consequence for losing. But by applying, extending that kind of psychology into the world of deadly games is, I think, really destroying the hopeful vision of the Games is, I think, really destroying

the hopeful vision of the future. So I think it's very cruel marriage in that sense. You know, I wonder if you could tell me a little bit about some of the characters in this show and what they say to you or the director's decision to have these characters in the show. I think I would have to start with the main male protagonist, Ki-hoon, who is a very funny yet sad character. I like the fact that the director decided to portray a story of a loser. You have one month. Take care of yourself. Hold on. Sir, excuse me.

I'm sorry to even ask, but may I please borrow 10,000 won? Although Gi-hun ends up winning the game, in the end, the main goal that made him participate in this game, which is to make money so that he can treat his mother's illness, is all turning into nothingness. Because when he comes back to his house with this large cash prize, then he finds his mother already not here with him. So I think it's really incredible that this, you know, death game survival shows, which usually pay attention to this extraordinary ability of winners, are actually turned around in this story, so as to really unearth the sadness of loser who actually won the game. So there is the great irony. And I think that's what makes

this drama quite appealing. So unlike Hunger Games, where you see extraordinary ability of winners, we see exactly the opposite. And there you have the element of black comedy, because the winner who won this deadly, improbable game, is actually one of the biggest losers. In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections.

Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix. I've been talking about money for 20 years. I've talked to millions of people and I have some startling numbers to share with you. Did you know that of the people I speak to, 50% of them do not know their own household income. That's not a typo. 50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Cops. income inequality than Korea. This is according to the OECD. But Hollywood is not putting up movies where people are killing each other over a golden pig that fills up with cash every time someone dies. And we do not see these narratives about, you know, the losers of life, basically what you just talked about.

And so why do you think this art is happening in Korea, but we aren't seeing the same kind of critiques to the same extent coming out of the United States and Hollywood? That's a great question. So I think it has a lot to do with the history that Korea has lived through in the modern era. Unlike, you know, the big myth about American dream, where if you work hard, everyone can make it. I don't think there's such an equivalent in Korean kind of mentality. And I think it has a lot to do with the very history, every stage of it in the modern era has been a constant struggle, starting with colonization by Japan and the very tragic Korean War and the ensuing division. So I think in Korean cultural, you know, imagination, there is a very strong tradition of expressing these oppression and

kind of condition of life that you cannot come to terms with. Until 1945, with the end of World War II, Korea has been kind of subjugated to become Japanese colony. So there was a period of time where Korean people were not allowed to speak Korean. And one of the social tensions that kind of saturate our debate in contemporary Korean society is that we have not resolved those kind of historical traumas, created Cold War situation where from 1950 to 1953, two sides of Korea, North side being supported by Soviet Union and South side supported by US were kind of put into this proxy war during the Cold War era. So many family members were separated, and they still live under a condition of division where they're not allowed to even write letters without the government's permission. So there's that incredible tragedy on family and national level that still has not been resolved, the psychology of being wronged, being invaded, and the condition of

living your life as victims. And I think that's why we see very visceral social satire, such as Parasite and Squid Game, gaining such traction in Korea. Korea. It's interesting, in addition to those themes, American critics were kind of framing this as like a sleeper hit or almost like a surprise hit that it did so well globally. But I think it's also probably worth noting here that Korea's also been spending the past 30 years seriously investing in its arts and culture industry. Yes, I don't think this really well-made drama emerged out of nowhere. Korean drama industry is extremely well known for producing this very strong human drama with extremely limited resources. And I think that's appealing quite attractively to global media industry nowadays. But first, I would like to point out that Korean entertainment industry is really saturated

with extremely talented people, whether it's drama world, film, or K-pop industry. And Korean audiences tend to be the harshest critic that you can ever imagine. And I think this in part has to do with the fact that there is such thriving online culture in Korea. I mean, Korea is one of the, you know, nations to have really digitized its whole country very early on, starting from 1990s to the point that it takes great pride in the fact that it has, you know, fastest internet. And another factor is that, I mean, all these kind of cultural products that were initially produced for domestic

audience later became quite attractive as export items. There's also been a human tool, right, to this relentless push for highest quality global art. Those lucky enough to be discovered sign long-term contracts and spend years in a trainee program. Learning discipline, perfecting every pitch, mastering every move. It makes me think of K-pop, right? With these boot camps that train the next stars. And that industry has also seen like a wave of suicides that has led to calls for reform. And I can't help but see some parallels with this dormitory life we see

at the beginning of Squid Game. Do you think there could be a critique of the entertainment industry happening here in Squid Game as well? Oh, I think there's definitely a conspicuous kind of comment on that. I think we can, whether that was the intention of the director or not,

I think we can definitely read into it. So I think you're absolutely right. When you see this, like, stacked up beds, people wearing same outfits and being kind of identified by numbers, not by their names is very much kind of direct punch in the face of how some of the entertainers are made. in the face of how some of the entertainers are made. And, you know, actually the very prominent image of Triangle that we see in Squid Game also is featured in one of the K-pop idols survival show. So there is immediately recognizable visual tropes everywhere.

Oh, I didn't know that. Yes, the K-pop idol survival show used to be called Produce 101. And this kind of pyramid triangle is an emblematic sign of there's only one top-ranking idol, and the rest will be below that winner. one top ranking idol and the rest will be below that winner. And I think the human toll that we often do not see, because most of it takes place in backstage, is something that we shouldn't be, you know, ignoring.

You know, as I said, the cost effectiveness of Korean dramas appeal to global media industry. But that kind of brings up a question of, are these actors, staff members being paid fairly? So, you know, one of the attractiveness of Squid Game is that, I mean, compared to other Netflix original series, it is very cost-effective production that has done so well. For example, you know, the nine episode, you know, series like Squid Game cost slightly more than production of one episode of Crown, which is the most expensive Netflix original. So you can see the lopsidedness of how much these Korean staff members and actors are being paid. So it's something that we should not forget because, you know,

there's this myth about labor efficient Asian, you know, workforce anywhere we look. Asian, you know, workforce anywhere we look. What is your hope that the success of Squid Game means for stories and films like it? You know, stories and films that don't come out of Hollywood. Yes, I think there is a great chance for Netflix and Korean drama to grow symbiotically. I think it's really, it could be a real win-win game. I think the reason, you know, hyper-violent but very creative show like Squid Game could have come out of Korean industry is because Netflix did not impose any kind of

restrictions on creative expressions. If it's a fair contract and fair relationship, it could really be an incredible win-win situation. Okay. Sukeng, thank you so much for this. It was so interesting. Very appreciative. Thank you. All right, so before I let you go today, following a highly critical appearance on 60 Minutes,

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen spoke to Congress on Tuesday. But I'm here today because I believe Facebook's products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy. Haugen said the company misled the public about the mental health issues that teens face on Instagram and about the company's role pushing inflammatory content. We're working on an episode about Facebook that wraps up what has been a really big couple of weeks, and that should be coming to you on Friday,

so I hope that you'll tune in. That is all for today, though. I'm Jamie Poisson. Thanks so much for listening to Fred Berner, and we'll talk to you on Friday, so I hope that you'll tune in. That is all for today, though. I'm Jamie Poisson. Thanks so much for listening to Fred Berner, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.