#it is so deeply unimpressive to see non-korean westerners loudly pointing at people just having fun in the tag

[agnesmontague]

note: i actually had the post and tags below written up a good while ago (since 10/20, at least) but i think it’s finally time to drop it out there. i’m speaking as one (1) korean and definitely not for all koreans but i have Seen Things

squid game is not that deep and frankly we don’t need any non-koreans getting precious about how to “properly” consume it to interpret its “full meaning” like it’s a rare ingredient that needs to be properly cooked to let out flavor bc it is, at best, mildly haute fast food and not some elevated political statement art piece. i’m sure there’s something to be said about the irony of americans taking it too much at face value and only consuming it like another uwu fandom to make AUs out of or unironically calling it a satire of the DPRK, but the latter group are already too far gone in their political brainrot to be worthy of any serious attention and frankly i think the former group is closer to the right idea than anyone treating squid game like high art

the reason im so cynical about it when i usually tend to be more hesitant about labeling things “not deep” is because the american/western political discussion around this show in itself is starting to feel like a form of fetishism, especially when actual koreans in korea who would connect most strongly to the story are so generally lukewarm towards it from what i can tell. the themes of exploitative capitalism, the horrors of poverty, the sordid dynamics of a dog-eat-dog world etc that are explored by squid game are old news that’s been trodden over and over again by writers like hyun jin-geon, yi bum-seon, and kim seung-ok since the 20s. koreans grow up reading and studying works by these authors without the political radicalization that ought to have come with them so concrete change is slow to come and everyone is fucking tired. the point is none of this is revolutionary to actual folks on the ground and it is actually kind of hair-raising to watch non-korean westerners scrambling over each other in a mad dash to get out more woke “critical thinking” takes about the state of korean capitalism over a piece of art that became an international sensation in part due to how much the political commentary was cut into tiny colorful pieces and wrapped in bacon (dunked in caramel?) to be palatable to as wide an audience as possible

i’m also unimpressed by the discourse because a lot of squid game is actually considered kind of regressive by korean leftist standards; every character is an unsubtle and easily recognizable archetype of korean society because squid game is a fable, but it’s been especially decried over how much it normalizes sexism and how it characterizes women, immigrants, and DPRK defectors as members of korean society. a lot of digital ink has been spilled over ali abdul who i personally would argue is also a fairly stagnant image of the “sympathetic immigrant” that hasn’t moved on since Wandeugi in 2011, but outdated characterization is not a problem unique to ali. it only contributes to my feeling that western audiences are trying to engage with squid game on a deeper level than it is prepared to meet them because it’s an “exotic” piece of foreign art and it would be out of their lane to make assumptions about creative decisions that would have been lambasted to hell and back were they made in an american show. and no, this is not an invitation for non-koreans to now “cancel” squid game with gleeful abandon. anything other than sincere enjoyment of what the show actually has to offer just feels kinda disingenuous, is what i’m trying to say

tl;dr: the surface message of what you got out of squid game is basically its entire message. it was cleverly done in some parts especially with regards to visual design and narrative structure. it’s a fun thriller show on a billion-dollar platform with a thesis on korean capitalism that is even more watered down from Parasite. if you enjoyed the show, liked its characters, had fun binging it, that’s fantastic, and tbh it’s the only “real” way it was meant to be engaged with, i think. anyone trying to insist otherwise, especially to make themselves look smarter, makes my.... how do you say, kimchi senses tingle