Netflix’s most popular show, the South Korean survival drama ‘Squid Game’ is returning with the second instalment. As the release date inches closer, the anticipation reaches new highs. The show brings out the dark sides of an exploitative and capitalistic economy and is based on one of the most devastating events in South Korea. Creator Hwang Dong Hyuk reveals how the violent 2009 Ssangyong strikes have inspired the show. The real-life event bears all the elements of a high-stakes drama. In 2009, a factory ground turned into a war zone between taser-bearing riot police and desperate workers with an activist atop a chimney for 100 days. The event, deeply ingrained in the economic divide, the unforgiving economic ladder, and an exploitative machinery, transpires thematically in the hit Netflix show.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of ‘Squid Game’ shared the inspiration for the series’ protagonist, in an interview with AFP. The character of Seong Gi-hun finds his roots in the violent labour strikes at Ssangyong Motor Company in 2009. The turbulent period saw more than 2,600 employees laid off, nearly 40% of the workforce, as the struggling car manufacturer faced financial downfall. The announcement triggered a 77-day strike by the workers, culminating in violent clashes between strikers and riot police.
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Armed with just slingshots and steel pipes, the workers faced the heavily armed police’s wrath. The clash turned the factory ground into a battlefield with hovering choppers making it difficult for the workers. He added that the aftermath bruised the lives of the workers in innumerable ways marked with physical injuries, legal battles, and financial ruin. The psychological remains pushed around 30 people to commit suicide due to stress-related issues. The events emphasise the struggles of middle-class workers in an economic mechanism serving the wealthy. Dong-hyuk said, “I wanted to show that any ordinary middle-class person in the world we live in today can fall to the bottom of the economic ladder overnight.”
However, the plight didn’t end there. Five years later, union leader Lee Chang-kun held a sit-in for 100 days on top of one of the factory’s chimneys. He protested a sentence in favour of Ssangyong against the strikers. Supporters supplied Chang-kun with food from a basket attached to a rope. He also endured hallucinations of a tent rope transformed into a writhing snake. Lee believed that he could not give up. He said, “We were seen as incompetent breadwinners and outdated labour activists who had lost their minds. Police kept beating us even after we fell unconscious — this happened at our workplace, and it was broadcast for so many to see.”
Netflix’s show ‘Squid Game’ hinges upon the dark and real impacts of a society governed by the wealthy. It highlights the plight of a worker who gambles his life to put bread on the table and the lust for money that looms over a capitalistic economy.
The drama focuses on a fatal, life-altering competition that forces citizens to stake their lives away. The last player standing wins a substantial cash prize, while the other players face death. The game features 456 players, all of whom share one thing in common—they are all deep in financial trouble. The games are overseen by the Front Man, who dons a black mask and uniform. The game proceeds with each player’s death contributing 100 million won to the potential 45.6 billion won grand prize. Additionally, it is revealed that the games are televised by a group of wealthy Americans who place bets on the players.
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Upon release, the show became a global phenomenon and was instrumental in the global Korean cultural wave. Along with the Oscar-winner ‘Parasite’ and the K-pop band BTS, the drama aided in pushing Korean entertainment beyond domestic borders.
Meanwhile, for ‘Squid Game’ Season 2, Hwang Dong-hyuk returns to helm his brainchild. He also serves as the writer and executive producer of the series. Moreover, actors Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo are reprising their roles from the first season. The upcoming instalment will also feature an impressive list of new cast members. The drama will release on December 26.