[Column] The good and bad of successes like "Squid Game"

Platforms such as Netflix and YouTube have heralded great achievements in cultural content, but at what cost?

Still from the Netflix original series “Squid Game” (provided by Netflix)

I never imagined that a day like this would come in my life. Before, it was unfathomable to me to see a Korean film winning the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival in France and four Academy Awards in the US and a Korean song hitting No. 1 on the US Billboard chart. I feel a sense of amazement in watching cultural barriers that seemed incredibly high when I was a child come tumbling down over the past several years.

Another work has added a feather to Korea's cultural cap, a Korean drama that has taken the world by storm. The nine-episode "Squid Game," directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, whose other credits include “Silenced” (2011), “Miss Granny” (2014) and “The Fortress” (2017), and starring actors Lee Jung-jae and Park Hae-soo, has reached No. 1 on Netflix TV streaming rankings worldwide since debuting on Sept. 17, a first for a K-drama.

Two factors are behind the success of "Squid Game." In the drama, the game's contestants —all from the lowest rungs of society — risk life and limb in their bid to win the grand prize of 45.6 billion won (US$38.7 million). Though the "death game" genre is quite familiar to audiences, uniquely Korean factors are crucial to the series’ success.

The game involves memories for many Koreans such as games of paper-folded “ttakji” tiles, carving out honeycomb dalgona patterns and playing marbles, all of which seem to allure foreign audiences. The backstory of each desperate character is another fun factor under the so-called K-new wave. It isn’t hard to believe.

But there is something more fundamental in significance: the power of platforms. K-dramas have been popular abroad before, starting with the series that launched Hallyu (the Korean Wave), "Winter Sonata." Yet this drama's reach overseas was limited to Japan and Asia.

This is because "Winter Sonata" was broadcast on the networks of each country. "Squid Game," however, was released simultaneously in 190 countries thanks to the global streaming platform Netflix. If you think about it, BTS, which has lead K-pop to new heights, would have never seen its incredible milestones without global platforms.

With no YouTube to spread music worldwide or Twitter to communicate with fans abroad, BTS would have never collaborated with the British rock band Coldplay on its latest single. Indie music acts as well as K-pop idol groups now regularly use global platforms such as YouTube.

Unlike YouTube, which is accessible by anyone, Netflix has restricted access. Only select works are aired for viewers in all 190 countries that Netflix serves, something inevitable no matter how much domestic over-the-top (OTT) media services boost investment and competitiveness. Imagine if the MBC spy action drama "The Veil," which was released on the same day as "Squid Game," came out on Netflix instead of traditional terrestrial broadcasting and the biggest domestic OTT service Wavve. Couldn't that have launched a boom abroad as well?

Domestic content producers want to work with Netflix more than any other collaborator. The general approach is reportedly to submit a proposal to Netflix and shift directions if they are turned down. The success of "Squid Game" seems to have accelerated this trend, allowing Netflix to grow its power.

It has been wonderful to see the success stories coming out of Korea that spotlight the status of Korean content. But where there is light, there is also shadow. When Netflix picks a project, it allows the project to conserve production costs and generate stable profits. But even if a work becomes an explosive success like “Squid Game,” there is generally no additional profit to be earned.

Given the recent formula for success provided by Netflix, fears are growing over an ever-growing concentration of genres that tend to provoke and stimulate the viewer. The power of culture stems from diversity. Just as global platforms are making smart use of Korean content, we must ensure balance by making the best use of these platforms.

Suh Jung-min

By Suh Jung-min, staff reporter

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