Netflix’s new K-Original Squid Game premiered on the streaming platform on 17th September, 2021, and has become one of the most popular shows on the streaming giant ever since.
Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the series is a survival thriller game that sees a group of people competing against one another for prize money of a whopping 45.6 billion Korean Won. They need to follow the instructions of an unknown masked overseer with a panoptic gaze or die.
Well-known for Miss Granny, Silenced and The Fortress, Hwang’s series stars Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon and others. Set in present-day Korea with a dystopian outlook, the film is a scathing commentary on capitalism, class divides and power dynamics.
While the survival thriller genre has many other brilliant flicks, including the Japanese blockbuster Battle Royale which has seemingly inspired Hwang, Squid Game is a distinct work of art that ought to be appreciated.
The show has amassed massive popularity, much to the surprise of Ted Sarandos who is the chief content officer at Netflix. He revealed that the exponential rate at which the popularity of the Korean show was growing, would be overtaking the popularity of Bridgerton soon enough. That is a massive feat in itself given how Bridgerton was streamed by 82 million households.
Saradnos said, “We did not see that coming, in terms of its global popularity.”
Read here to understand why we think Squid Game is the greatest K-Original produced by Netflix.
