Political Satire Flood Parodying 'Ojingeo Game'
Civilians Say "Can't Beat Parent Chance No Matter How Hard You Work," "Who Is the Winner of Moon Game?"
A parody of the Netflix original series 'Squid Game' called 'Moon Jae-in Game'. Photo by Online Community Screenshot.
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] "The first game is tax increase. Multi-homeowners who cannot endure are eliminated. The second game is raising house prices. Homeless people who cannot endure are eliminated. The third game is social distancing. Self-employed people who cannot endure are eliminated. The fourth game is price inflation. Ordinary citizens who cannot endure are eliminated."
Recently, political satires parodying the Netflix drama 'Squid Game' have been appearing one after another, attracting attention. Examples include the '50 Billion Won Game,' parodying the controversy over the 5 billion won retirement bonus of Gwak Sang-do, an independent (former People Power Party) lawmaker's son, and the 'Moon Jae-in Game,' mocking the Moon Jae-in administration's real estate policies.
Citizens smile at the sharp satire of the current social situation, while some sigh with self-mockery. The parodies fully reflect the harsh lives felt by ordinary people today, such as rising prices, taxes, and housing costs. Citizens respond to the parodies by saying, "We cannot just laugh."
◆ "Homeless and self-employed eliminated"... 'Moon Jae-in Game' parodying Squid Game appears
On the 28th, posts titled 'Moon Jae-in Game,' parodying Squid Game, became a hot topic on various online communities. In the 'Moon Jae-in Game' poster, President Moon is smiling brightly while wearing the iconic teal tracksuit from Squid Game. The poster is said to have originated from anti-government communities such as Ilgan Best Storage (Ilbe).
Recently, an online community has been abuzz with posts parodying "Squid Game" as "Moon Jae-in Game." Photo by Online Community Screenshot.
According to the 'Moon Jae-in Game' post, the game host says, "Everyone voluntarily chose me without any coercion. This is a game you started," and introduces the game rules. The games are △ tax increase △ raising house prices △ social distancing △ price inflation, and multi-homeowners, homeless people, self-employed, and ordinary citizens who fail to pass are all eliminated.
The host finally asks, "Are you still alive?" and says, "The final game will be held in March next year." This seems to be a remark targeting the presidential election scheduled for March next year.
Meanwhile, another netizen changed the scene in Squid Game where participants are given food into a scene of distributing disaster relief funds.
When a participant asks, "Why don't I have disaster relief funds?" the host replies, "Because you belong to the top 12%." When the participant questions, "Then how am I supposed to live?" the host says, "Instead, I will give you pride."
When the angry participants say, "We can't live like this. Let's all rise up and protest," the host says, "Protests are also banned. Everyone disperse," forbidding the protest. This appears to satirize the controversy over the fairness of the 5th disaster relief fund and the current situation where large-scale gatherings are banned due to COVID-19.
◆ '50 Billion Won Game' parody appears in response to Gwak Sang-do's son's '50 billion won retirement bonus' explanation
Earlier, the '50 Billion Won Game' parody mocking the controversy over the high retirement bonus of lawmaker Gwak's son, Mr. A, also became a hot topic. There were various images, from changing the title part of the Squid Game poster to '50 Billion Won Game' to replacing the main actor Lee Jung-jae with lawmaker Gwak.
This seems to mock Mr. A's analogy of himself to a 'pawn' in Squid Game when he explained the suspicions on the 26th. Mr. A released a statement on Gwak's Facebook saying, "I am just a meticulously designed 'pawn' in Squid Game."
The "50 Billion Game," a parody of the recent controversy over the large retirement bonus of independent lawmaker Gwak Sang-do's son, is gaining attention. Photo by Online Community Screenshot.
He said, "I am just a meticulously designed 'pawn' in Squid Game. A 'pawn' in the game called 'Hwacheon Daeyu.' What could I have done or could do as a 'pawn'? When I joined, all settings for 'Hwacheon Daeyu' were already completed. I did what I was told from above and did my best. Looking back, from the designer's perspective, I was a very faithful pawn."
However, Squid Game fans who saw the statement issued a critical statement against Mr. A. The online community DC Inside's 'Squid Game Gallery' pointed out, "Most participants in Squid Game are people burdened with overwhelming debts and pushed to the edge of life," and "Comparing this to the reality where Mr. A, who joined the company through his father who served as the Blue House civil affairs secretary, received a huge amount of 5 billion won as performance bonus and retirement pay is an inappropriate analogy."
◆ Citizens sigh, "Reality is more dramatic than drama... Who is the winner?"
The reason why Squid Game parodies became a hot topic seems to be because they reflect sharp satire of current society. Opinions say that the parodies well reflect the harsh lives of ordinary people due to rising house prices and prices under the current government, as well as the relative deprivation caused by the controversy over lawmaker Gwak's son's retirement bonus.
A netizen who saw the 'Moon Jae-in Game' parody said on an online community, "Did you survive the Moon Jae-in Game?" and "The scary thing is that every single South Korean citizen is participating in the Moon Jae-in Game. Originally, Squid Game should be voluntarily participated in by those who want to, but South Korean citizens must participate because they are South Korean citizens," criticizing.
He continued, "Recently, the number of self-employed people committing extreme acts has rapidly increased. It seems self-employed people are the losers of the Moon Jae-in Game. Although it is a parody of a drama, reality seems more dramatic than drama," and asked, "Who is the winner of the Moon Jae-in Game?"
Another netizen mentioned the '50 Billion Won Game' and raised their voice, saying, "In the end, you can't beat the parent chance even if you work all your life. Even if you work all your life, can an office worker hold such a huge amount of 5 billion won? Where is the real fairness for young people?"
Meanwhile, Squid Game tells the story of people participating in a mysterious survival game with a prize of 45.6 billion won, risking their lives to become the final winner. The drama has become a hot topic as the first Korean drama to rank number one in the Netflix drama category, including in the United States.
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