[New Wave] Looking Forward to the Second Squid Game

These days, the most frequently mentioned word when meeting people or on social networking services (SNS) is ‘Ojingeo Game’ (Squid Game). The Korean drama on Netflix has become a hot topic not only in Korea but worldwide. It is said to be the first work to achieve number one in every country where Netflix officially operates, and even in China, where the service is unavailable, the Squid Game Weibo hashtag reached a total of 580 million views as of the end of September. Furthermore, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, praised Squid Game highly, and it has had a significant impact on Netflix’s stock price, which creates a curious feeling.

Various analyses have emerged regarding the reasons for its popularity, and from a content perspective, it seems that multiple factors have complexly influenced its success. Fundamentally, the characteristic of being a global OTT platform rather than terrestrial broadcasting has affected the untact (contactless) era, and the fact that it is exposed almost in real-time worldwide and allows sharing of buzz seems to have amplified its effectiveness during the COVID-19 era. Although there are criticisms about plagiarism and similarities to clich?s of existing dramas, the long-prepared script and direction, and the power of good content moving people are also points of agreement. The power of Korean Wave content such as BTS and Parasite seems to continue generating even greater synergy.

Regarding the buzz and scalability of content, the more stories a piece of content has, the more it stimulates the interest of people who like to share on SNS, which is a sufficient factor for popularity. It is also interesting that with the appearance of a pop-up store in Paris, France, ‘Dalgona Making Sets’ featuring scenes from Squid Game are being sold on overseas e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay. It is also influencing the metaverse, with people enjoying ‘Red Light, Green Light (Mugunghwa Kkoci Pieotseumnida)’ in rooms named ‘Ojingeo Game (Squid Game)’ on Roblox, so the digital scalability is growing even more. The OST and the sets boasting splendid mise-en-sc?ne captivate both visual and auditory senses. It evokes nostalgia for the older generation and curiosity for the MZ generation, while the simplicity of the code reminds people worldwide of their childhood.

However, there are mixed expectations and concerns about whether such content will continue to emerge in the future. The reason for the high criticism in Korea, unlike overseas praise, is disappointment with the melodrama and scenes that seem familiar, which also indicates that discovering fresh material is becoming more difficult. Following Parasite, the current situation where the theme of class issues overlaps with the keyword ‘Hwacheondaeyu’ makes the winner-takes-all structure uncomfortable to view solely as entertainment. Considering overseas expansion, issues such as awkward foreign language actors and low production costs and cost-effectiveness raise painful voices that only enrich the giant platform companies. The sales revenue from Squid Game-related Halloween products is earned by Chinese shopping sites, and illegal distribution of Squid Game in China has been mentioned in the national audit.

Expectations for new and innovative content suitable for OTT platforms are increasing. To continue the success story that Korean content has built so far and to produce tangible results, planning aimed at the world and the cleverness to firmly secure one’s share must be added. We are just standing at the starting point of the ‘Mugunghwa Kkoci Pieotseumnida’ game. Although there are many concerns, the future is also more promising. I want to run with all my strength, recalling old memories.

Byungmin Lee, Professor, Department of Cultural Contents, Konkuk University