Contains spoilers for Season 3 of “Squid Game.”
On Friday, fans around the world tuned in for the third and last season of the juggernaut Netflix series “Squid Game.”
Since 2021, they’ve watched as hundreds of contestants played deadly versions of children’s games in an attempt to win a cash prize of 45.6 billion won, around $33 million.
At the grisly end of Season 3’s six episodes, its beloved protagonist Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), was dead, and its villains were very much alive and thriving.
For some viewers in South Korea, where the show is set, that fell short of delivering the justice they were hoping for.
After eagerly waiting half a year since the cliffhanger ending of Season 2, Kim Young Eun, a 24-year-old university student in Seoul, watched the entire season with her boyfriend at a comic book cafe, just hours after its release on Friday night.
She was disappointed that most of her favorite characters died, while the show’s bullies — including the ultra-wealth V.I.P.s who fund the games — survived. “It felt like the director was delivering a message that good people finish last,” Ms. Kim said.
Chun Taehyun, a university student in Seoul, said he had sympathy for the players who had gambled away their savings or lost them in bad investments, because “Korean people are moving away from traditionally stable jobs and are taking risks.”
“I think it’s for the better that ‘Squid Game’ shows another side to South Korea, other than the pretty perfection of K-pop,” he said.
That was part of the intent, according to Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the series. In an interview done in December, shortly before Season 2 aired, he said he wanted to make the show a mirror of the contemporary situation.
“The world is becoming more extreme,” he said. December was the same month that Yoon Suk Yeol, then the president of South Korea, declared martial law and called troops into the National Assembly. (Season 1 debuted amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.)
The latest installment arrives shortly after South Korea held a snap election and voted for a new president, bringing months of political upheaval to an end, at least for the time being.
The “Squid Game” characters also reflect a changing society. Among the Season 3 contestants were a cryptocurrency scammer, a pregnant young woman and a transgender character.
In Seoul, fans gathered to bid adieu to the show on Saturday evening as a “Squid Game” parade took over Gwanghwamun, a major square downtown. Festivities included a marching band of pink-suited guards, a mock round of the infamous “Red Light, Green Light” game and a curtain call of leading cast members.
Speaking at a fan event after the parade, Mr. Hwang said the show had been a “heavy weight” on his shoulders. “I feel lighter now that I can finally put it down,” he said.
Netflix, however, might not be so eager to put it down just yet.
Season 3 ends on the streets of Los Angeles with a cameo from Cate Blanchett playing ddakji — the Korean game used by the Squid Game organizers to recruit players. Though there has been some speculation about a remake of the series in the United States, Netflix has declined to comment.
The show’s extreme gore, plus its themes about capitalism and inequality, helped put K-content on the map. The success of its first season led to additional support from Netflix, which in 2023 announced a $2.5 billion investment in Korean shows and movies through 2027. Experts say “Squid Game” fueled overseas interest in other Korean cultural exports like beauty products and food.
The show “opened up more global willingness for non-English language shows,” said Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s vice president of content for Asia.
“As a creative, as a content executive, you want your show to be watched by a big audience at home. And if the show travels globally, that’s awesome,” she said.
Both Ms. Kim and Mr. Hwang, the director, describe “Squid Game” as an authentically South Korean story. They attribute its success in part to its connection with local values, even if that means exposing the dark underbelly of society.
The show reflects the value put on “academic classism and materialism,” said Professor Gyu Tag Lee, a professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea. As long as people follow the rules, “stepping on others to win” is a widely considered fair game in the nation’s competitive society, he said.
Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea, the Asia Pacific region and global breaking news from Seoul.
The post For South Koreans,‘Squid Game’ Was More Than Just Entertainment appeared first on New York Times.
