South Korean series breaks records: Squid Game on track to become Netflix's most successful series
Just days after its premiere on September 17, Squid Game entered the top 10 of the world-famous Netflix series. At the same time, for the first time in history, the South Korean series climbs to the first place in the top 10 list of Netflix series in the United States.
The current South Korean series Squid Game ("Squid Game") with only nine episodes has managed to draw the attention of the world audience to itself and is already on its way to becoming the most watched series on Netflix.
According to the co-CEO of the giant streaming platform, Ted Sarandos, during "Code 2021" (annual technology conference organized in Beverly Hills, California, by the American media company "Vox Media"), the dystopian South Korean series is already the most successful a series of non-English speaking areas.
Squid Game surpasses all Netflix non-English hits, including the Spanish crime thriller Paper House and the French mystery Lupine. - points out Sarandos.
Just days after its premiere on September 17, Squid Game entered the top 10 of the world-famous Netflix series. At the same time, for the first time in history, the South Korean series climbs to the top of the top 10 list of Netflix series in the United States.
Deadly tournament in children's games
Squid Game is a dystopian horror story about more than a dozen people whose difficult living conditions, financial problems and debts force them to apply for a tournament in a famous Korean children's game, hoping to win the top prize of $ 38.5 million.
But the moment the games start, the desperate participants realize that they have been deceived. Their favorite childhood games, such as "marbles", "rope pulling" and "follow the guide", are not nearly as harmless as they remember, and they become part of a deadly tournament.
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The author of the script for all nine episodes is the director of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-Hyuk, according to whom the secret of the successful reception of the series with the audience lies in its "simplicity".
- Viewers have the opportunity to focus more on the complexity of the characters and fully dedicate themselves to the story when the rules of the game are simple. "People are drawn to the terrifying irony of adults risking their lives to earn money to pay off their debts by playing children's games," Hwang told Netflix Korea.
Criticism of society
Hwang Dong-hyuk first started developing the idea for Squid Game 14 years ago, when he faced sharp criticism for "twisting nostalgia for Korean children's games into a medium for survival script".
But according to the Korean cultural critic Duke Hyun-Jung, "The series manages to balance the complexity of cultural differences versus global issues"
- Although the specific Korean children's games shown in the series may be unknown to a global audience, Squid Game has managed to ask universal questions about capitalism and a competitive society in a way that is easy to understand. Says Jung.
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Is Squid Game a plagiarism of another series or movie?
Despite numerous positive reviews, some viewers accused the Squid Game director of plagiarism, but the concept of deadly games is not new at all. There are a number of movies and series whose premise follows a similar trajectory to that of Squid Game.
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Similar content
For those who have enjoyed this series and would like to see something similar, the following few titles will surely bring them equal excitement: Battle Royale (film, Japan, 2000), Saw ("Saw" - movie, USA, 2004), Liar Game (Series of Liars - Japan, 2007), Deadman Wonderland (anime, Japan, 2011), Hunger Games (USA, 2012), As the Gods Will ("As the Gods Want" - film, Japan, 2014), "3%" (series, Brazil, 2016) and Alice in Borderland ("Alice in Borderland" - series, Japan, 2020).
