The global rise of a small subset of K-dramas is impacting the entire Korean TV landscape – and it’s not all for the best.
Articles on Korean TV
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A survey shows the impact foreign media is having on North Korea’s residents, despite the government’s harsh crackdown
There is one element that is rarely talked about, despite its pivotal contribution to the success of shows like Squid Game: translation.
Physical: 100 has taken the global number one spot on Netflix, just like its South Korean brethren Squid Game – and the similarities between the shows don’t end there.
Inspired by the sensitive, handsome men they see on TV in their favorite K-dramas, they travel abroad in pursuit of a ‘soft’ masculinity they say they can’t find at home.
In the hit Korean Netflix show ‘Squid Game,’ players are required to sign dubiously ethical contracts as their lives are assigned monetary value.
The unanticipated popularity of the Korean show ‘Squid Game’ highlights our relationship to debt and capitalism, but the contradictions extend beyond the show itself.
As the popularity of Squid Game continues to grow globally, there have been debates over the quality of the English subtitle translation - but critics are missing important context.
Rising household debt in South Korea is crippling many and Squid Game speaks to this very real horror facing many in the country.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies, University of Sheffield
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Senior Lecturer in Translation and Interpreting at Macquarie University, Macquarie University
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Associate Professor, English and Theatre Studies, University of Guelph
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Lecturer, School of International Studies, Macquarie University
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Postdoctoral Fellow, Indiana University