[Limelight] Stories of Capitalism and Failures... Bitter World That Resonates After 10 Years

Hwang Dong-hyuk, Director of 'Ojingeo Game'
First Korean Drama to Become the Most Watched on Netflix Worldwide
"Korean Society, 50 Million People Forced into Extreme Competition on a Small Land"
Exploring New Possibilities in Every Work... Season 2 Is Not Just Seong Gi-hun's Counterattack

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk (50) did not have an easy start. His film "My Father" (2007) failed at the box office. This led to the cancellation of his next project, and he struggled with financial difficulties. He survived day by day with bank loans. The people shown on TV news were also in despair. They were workers from Ssangyong Motor Company. In protest against unilateral restructuring, they occupied the Pyeongtaek factory and staged a sit-in. The police responded with forceful suppression, turning the scene into chaos. Director Hwang did not see it as someone else's problem. He deeply felt the harmful effects of capitalism, where an ordinary office worker can suddenly fall to the bottom of society. The idea of a survival game came to mind. It was "Squid Game."

"In capitalist society, anyone can become a failure in an instant. As a creator, I often create characters that embody such issues. The role that was born this way is Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). Reflecting real experiences, it pointed to an unstable and difficult society."

"Squid Game," written in the shadows, shone as a Netflix original series more than a decade later. The response was astonishing. It is the first Korean drama to be the most-watched on Netflix worldwide. It enjoys top popularity in 76 countries including the largest market, the United States, as well as Germany, France, Japan, and Vietnam. Green tracksuits and dalgona candy sets are traded online, and the "Mugunghwa flower has bloomed" game is played in the metaverse, sparking a global phenomenon. Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, said, "If the trend continues, it could become the biggest success not only among Netflix's non-English content but among all titles." Director Hwang wore a dazed expression.

"I don't know if this is a dream or reality. I never expected such a global craze in such a short time. The global market was the initial goal. Didn't directors like Bong Joon-ho and groups like BTS and Psy agree that the most Korean things can be the most global? I also thought that traditional Korean children's games would have global appeal. But I didn't expect it to this extent."

"Squid Game" differs from Japanese survival works that set up complex games where winning is difficult. It borrows simple children's games to make the gameplay intuitive. The story is not complicated either. If you lose a game with a huge cash prize at stake, you immediately lose your life. When the script was completed in 2009, it was often dismissed as absurd fantasy. Ten years later, the response changed drastically. Sadly, the world changed enough for it to be recognized.

"People today are familiar with games. Bitcoin, real estate, stocks ? all are games aiming for quick riches. Everyone worldwide is interested. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the rich-get-richer, poor-get-poorer phenomenon, making it worse. Especially in Korea, competition remains fierce and full of stress. In a small land with 50 million people, everyone is pushed into extreme competition like participants in 'Squid Game.' I wanted to allegorically show a society that fosters this, not through courageous heroes but through ordinary people."

A critical reflection on modern society was also evident in the film "Silenced" (2011). The boat carrying the Squid Game participants departs from Mujin, the city that served as the setting for "Silenced." It is portrayed as a space embodying all the social ills occurring in Korea. In the original work "Mujin Travelogue" by writer Kim Seung-ok, pathological phenomena caused by rapid industrialization are shrouded in fog. Seong Gi-hun, who steps into this, is powerless and hollow like Yoon Hee-jung from "Mujin Travelogue" or Kang In-ho (Gong Yoo) from "Silenced." However, he tries to overcome intellectual defeatism or ethical self-escape by affirming his reason for existence.

"I wanted to show how far an ordinary person can fall. Of course, ultimately, there is hope. As Seong Gi-hun's final resolve says, 'I'm not an animal. I'm a human. (...) I can't forgive what you are doing.' I hope this becomes an opportunity for us to ask ourselves what we must do now."

Director Hwang's worldview also appears in Oh Il-nam (Oh Young-soo), the designer of the Squid Game. He even participates in the game himself to regain his innocence. Director Hwang had already depicted the desires of the elderly toward youth in "Miss Granny" (2014). Oh Mal-soon (Na Moon-hee), whose face is full of wrinkles, returns to her 20-year-old body. She changes her name to Oduri, inspired by Audrey Hepburn, and decides to enjoy a new life. The absurd setting was an attempt to revisit the youth of the elderly who had been lost in childcare and housework. Unlike Oh Mal-soon, Oh Il-nam does not recover his innocence because he never fully trusts humanity.

Director Hwang has pursued new possibilities in each work. Even in "The Fortress" (2017), which deals with the history of defeat (the Byeongjahoran invasion), he inserted lines not in Kim Hoon's original novel to convey the theme. It is the "new way of life for the people" spoken by Kim Sang-heon (Kim Yoon-seok). It reaches a revolutionary conclusion that it is better to eliminate all old things, return to nothingness, and start anew. At the time, Director Hwang said, "I wanted to talk about my personal hopes and imaginations for change in Korean society."

Contrary to his earnest wishes, Korean society has become even more intense. Victims are completely forgotten, as shown by the glass stepping stones in "Squid Game." Director Hwang seeks new hope again. The counterattack by Seong Gi-hun, which was foreshadowed as a conclusion, is not everything. The "Squid Game" script contains an epilogue that was not filmed. It shows Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), who ran the Squid Game, pouring newly purchased small fish into an empty fish tank in a cramped, old goshiwon room. There is a man watching from afar. It is Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), a police officer and his younger brother.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.