1 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: From The Australian. This is the weekend edition of The Front. 2 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: I'm Claire Harvey. In entertainment Circles, they talk about something 3 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: called the Korean Wave, a moment in the nineties when 4 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: Korean music and TV shows started going wild internationally, first 5 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: into China, Japan, Southeast Asia and then the rest of 6 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: the world makeup skincare television literature. They call it hull 7 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,160 Speaker 1: yu and it might be best expressed in the Netflix 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: hit squid Game. Today, entertainment reporter Jordi Gray on why 9 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 1: season three of squid Game, which drops for your binging 10 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: pleasure on June twenty seven hits different. 11 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 2: Gundam Star. 12 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 1: Gungham Style, released in twenty twelve, was the world's Korean 13 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: pop culture initiation. It is pop perfection with biting synth 14 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: hooks and a soaring pre chorus that drops into an 15 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: irresistible chant open Gundam stars compared with a signature dance move. 16 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: The music video was the first video ever to reach 17 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: a billion views on YouTube. Gungam means South of the River. 18 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: The singer Cy, who became a global superstar thanks to 19 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: Gungham Style, calls this part of town the Beverly Hills 20 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: of soul, remember right, said Fred Gungman style was a 21 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: bit like I'm Too Sexy, a satire of vanity, consumerism 22 00:01:55,440 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: and class. And then k pop. If you haven't heard 23 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: of Korean supergroups BTS, Black Pink and Twice Pink, you 24 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: at least know one of their biggest stars, l Lisa 25 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: Manibal from Black Pink, who played Mook in the latest 26 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: season of The White Lotus. 27 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 2: Here are the nominees for Achievement and Directing. 28 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty, Bong June Ho's Parasite, a story about 29 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: inequality and class, was the first non English language film 30 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: to win the Best Picture Oscar Paul Juneo. And in 31 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, Netflix released squid Game, a life and 32 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: death fictional game show in the style of the Roman colisseum, 33 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: a blood sport where poor people compete for money. Korean 34 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: skincare defund it Approach, not my Wheelhouse, Club, Not My 35 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: wheel House. Jordi Gray is the entertainment reporter for the 36 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: Australian Jordy. You had to binge a few episodes to 37 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: catch up on squid Game, and then you've watched some 38 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: of season three in advance of everybody else. What was 39 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: it like throwing yourself back into this quid game world. 40 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 2: Intense and Graham, I did forget how extraordinarily violent this 41 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 2: show is, so I did watch a lot of it 42 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 2: through my fingers, but I do think it's a very 43 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 2: strong ending to such a massive series. 44 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: Squid Game follows a hero, Giehan, who finds himself in 45 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: financial trouble and is drawn into a wild game where 46 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: he tries to win a fortune. The twist is this 47 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: game is life or death. In seasons one and two, 48 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: we saw him fight through the death and chaos to 49 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: try to unmask the sinister figures behind the game, and 50 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: in season three, which drops on Netflix on June twenty seven, 51 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: we leap into the future for something that the director 52 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: is promising will be darker and more humorous. Is class. 53 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: Do you think the main driving force in this story? 54 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: Is that really what it's about? 55 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 2: I think season three is an actual extension of the 56 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 2: themes of season two, and it's focused on tribalism. Season 57 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 2: one was really about how capitalism and desperate economic circumstances 58 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 2: push people to impossible, deadly decisions like risking life and 59 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 2: limb in front of a giant pigtailed. 60 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:37,239 Speaker 1: Murderers dole. 61 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 2: What. But this season introduces a very interesting twist. After 62 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 2: each round of the games, the players get to vote 63 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 2: on whether to end the game early. If the game 64 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 2: ends prematurely, they split the prize money evenly, which is 65 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 2: kind of a classic game show dilemma, but in the 66 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 2: hands of like Squid Games director becomes a really intense 67 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 2: and uncomfortable social experiment. 68 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: One of the things about dystopian television, I think is 69 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: that there's a hope that the White Night will come, 70 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 1: it will all be solved, you know, you get some 71 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: clarity at the end. Do you feel like Squid Game 72 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: is going there or is it just going to be 73 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: quite dystopian right through to the end, do you think? 74 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 2: I think recently there's kind of been an interest in 75 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,039 Speaker 2: the sort of eat the rich television and it has 76 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 2: that anger, but it doesn't really offer any answers. And 77 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 2: if I'm being like totally honest, I don't think that's 78 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 2: why people like the show. I don't think they're interested 79 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 2: in it because it's a scathing critique of wealth. Just 80 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 2: like people I'm not interested in the White Lotus. They 81 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 2: want to just see rich people teary each other apart, 82 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 2: I think squid game is just captivating because of the 83 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 2: style and spectacle of it, the candy colored corridors and 84 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 2: the pink jumpsuits and the insane. 85 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: Violence coming up. How Korean taxpayers funded this global culture takeover. 86 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: Part of Korea's kind of revolution is that this is 87 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: a very connected society. A huge population living on half 88 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: a tiny island helps. They're very close together, They're all 89 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 1: plugged in. What's different about the vision of Korean culture 90 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: that's been exported to the world. I'm thinking particularly about 91 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: k pop? Why is it so captivating? 92 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 2: Technology is the source of South Korea. Back in twenty ten, 93 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 2: it rolled up broadband to nearly every household, years ahead 94 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 2: of most countries. And it wasn't just about like zippy 95 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 2: and fast downloads. It was part of a much bigger picture, 96 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 2: which was a national strategy to modernize the economy and 97 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 2: push Korean culture onto the world stage. 98 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: And was that a government funded If it was. 99 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 2: Yes, I like to think of it as like a 100 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 2: state back charm offensive. The South Korean government clocked early 101 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 2: that these like glossy and gorgeous capeop idols were worth billions, 102 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 2: not just in like streaming revenue, but in soft power 103 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 2: like people are obsessed with their fashion and it's been 104 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 2: a massive boost for tourism. People want to go to 105 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 2: career and see how their favorite capup idols live. And 106 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 2: I think since the nineteen nineties, the Ministry of Culture, 107 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 2: Sports and Tourism has treated k pop the way that 108 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 2: other nations treat like steel or aircraft as national infrastructure. 109 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 2: So it invests in training programs, music video production overseas, 110 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 2: showcases global marketing campaigns, and funnels money into the industry 111 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 2: because it knows that these stars sell more than songs, 112 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 2: They sell the country itself. 113 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: Wow, that is actually quite dystopian and fabulous. Yeah, and 114 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: so are films like Parasite informed by that? I mean, 115 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: is the kind of art house cinema for all of 116 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: a better word that's coming out of Korea as well 117 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: a rejection of that? Or are they also funding the 118 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 1: depressing art house cinema blockbusters the weird oscars? Well. 119 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 2: The Korean film industry is supported by government funding through 120 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 2: bodies like the Korean Film Council that helps directors take chances, 121 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 2: and they have mentored directors like Long Jun Ho and 122 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 2: Park Chen Wook who did Old Boy, or teurs that 123 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 2: mix irony and social critique without worrying about global palatability, 124 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 2: which I think has actually benefited the Korean government because 125 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 2: most Hollywood movies don't have anything to say. 126 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: Well, we're in the Marvel era, aren't we That's the 127 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: backdrop to these kinds of films. So are they stepping 128 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: into a sort of ideas void that Hollywood's created? 129 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 2: I think so. Yes. Hollywood is terrified, at risk and 130 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 2: obsessed with pre sold franchises. 131 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:18,439 Speaker 1: It has spent the. 132 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 2: Past two decades, like post Iron Man, doubling down on superheroes, 133 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 2: Disney Life, Action remakes, sequels, or YadA YadA, YadA yadda, 134 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 2: because they know that original ideas do not guarantee global 135 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 2: return and intellectual property like Star Wars and Marvel and 136 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 2: Harry Potter is bankable in every territory, like you don't 137 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 2: have to explain Spider Man to Shanghai or Paris. But 138 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 2: the Korean public is famously film literate pre pandemic, they 139 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 2: were buying more cinematickets per capita than anywhere else in 140 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,680 Speaker 2: the world. So while Hollywood played it, say, I sort 141 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 2: of flogging nostalgia career back to regionality and as winning. 142 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: Jordie Gray is the entertainment reporter with The Australian. You 143 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: can read her story in today's review section, imprint or 144 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: online at the Australian dot com do a you slash review. 145 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: This episode of the Front was hosted by me Claire 146 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: Harvey and produced by Jasper League. Thanks for joining us 147 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: on the Front this week. Our team also includes Kristin 148 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: amyot Leatt, Samaglue, Tiffany Dimak, Josh Burton and Stephanie Coombs.