I tried to watch Squid Game...


Everyone on TikTok can't stop talking about Squid Game, the South Korean survival drama which premiered on Netflix a couple of weeks ago (September 17 in the US). The series tells the story of a group of people who risk their lives in a mysterious survival game with a ₩45.6 billion prize (about $38 million in US dollars). Think of it like the Hunger Games but played with only children’s games.

It is currently the number one show on Netflix in a number of countries. In fact, a 2016 video from Vogue's YouTube channel featuring Hoyeon Jung has "Squid Game" added to its title to capitalize on the show's popularity and interest in its lead actress. 


The show has also inspired countless memes. The "red light, green light" game from the first episode of the show is the driving force behind many of the memes on TikTok. "Red light, green light" is a children's game in which one person commands those behind them to run (green light) and hold still (red light), and eliminates those who move during a red light phase. But in the show, a giant animatronic girl calls out commands for players to run and stop, and if it catches them moving, the animatronic immediately triggers a gun to shoot them, eliminating the player.

Many of the videos are concentrated under a sound uploaded on TikTok  that clips the animatronic saying "mugunghwa kochi pieotsumnida." The sound has been used in over 200,000 videos, with people using it to act out scenarios of how they'd act in the game.

While the series has nine episodes, I only watch the first. My anxiety would not allow me to watch any more episodes. Maybe I'll watch the rest of it someday when my nerves aren't too wrought from watching a lot of people die.

Comments