WEBVTT - Squid Game: How a Korean dystopia conquered the world

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<v Speaker 1>From The Australian. This is the weekend edition of The Front.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Claire Harvey. In entertainment Circles, they talk about something

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<v Speaker 1>called the Korean Wave, a moment in the nineties when

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<v Speaker 1>Korean music and TV shows started going wild internationally, first

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<v Speaker 1>into China, Japan, Southeast Asia and then the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the world makeup skincare television literature. They call it hull

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<v Speaker 1>yu and it might be best expressed in the Netflix

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<v Speaker 1>hit squid Game. Today, entertainment reporter Jordi Gray on why

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<v Speaker 1>season three of squid Game, which drops for your binging

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<v Speaker 1>pleasure on June twenty seven hits different.

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<v Speaker 2>Gundam Star.

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<v Speaker 1>Gungham Style, released in twenty twelve, was the world's Korean

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<v Speaker 1>pop culture initiation. It is pop perfection with biting synth

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<v Speaker 1>hooks and a soaring pre chorus that drops into an

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<v Speaker 1>irresistible chant open Gundam stars compared with a signature dance move.

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<v Speaker 1>The music video was the first video ever to reach

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<v Speaker 1>a billion views on YouTube. Gungam means South of the River.

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<v Speaker 1>The singer Cy, who became a global superstar thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>Gungham Style, calls this part of town the Beverly Hills

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<v Speaker 1>of soul, remember right, said Fred Gungman style was a

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<v Speaker 1>bit like I'm Too Sexy, a satire of vanity, consumerism

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<v Speaker 1>and class. And then k pop. If you haven't heard

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<v Speaker 1>of Korean supergroups BTS, Black Pink and Twice Pink, you

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<v Speaker 1>at least know one of their biggest stars, l Lisa

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<v Speaker 1>Manibal from Black Pink, who played Mook in the latest

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<v Speaker 1>season of The White Lotus.

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<v Speaker 2>Here are the nominees for Achievement and Directing.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty twenty, Bong June Ho's Parasite, a story about

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<v Speaker 1>inequality and class, was the first non English language film

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<v Speaker 1>to win the Best Picture Oscar Paul Juneo. And in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty one, Netflix released squid Game, a life and

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<v Speaker 1>death fictional game show in the style of the Roman colisseum,

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<v Speaker 1>a blood sport where poor people compete for money. Korean

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<v Speaker 1>skincare defund it Approach, not my Wheelhouse, Club, Not My

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<v Speaker 1>wheel House. Jordi Gray is the entertainment reporter for the

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<v Speaker 1>Australian Jordy. You had to binge a few episodes to

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<v Speaker 1>catch up on squid Game, and then you've watched some

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<v Speaker 1>of season three in advance of everybody else. What was

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<v Speaker 1>it like throwing yourself back into this quid game world.

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<v Speaker 2>Intense and Graham, I did forget how extraordinarily violent this

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<v Speaker 2>show is, so I did watch a lot of it

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<v Speaker 2>through my fingers, but I do think it's a very

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<v Speaker 2>strong ending to such a massive series.

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<v Speaker 1>Squid Game follows a hero, Giehan, who finds himself in

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<v Speaker 1>financial trouble and is drawn into a wild game where

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<v Speaker 1>he tries to win a fortune. The twist is this

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<v Speaker 1>game is life or death. In seasons one and two,

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<v Speaker 1>we saw him fight through the death and chaos to

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<v Speaker 1>try to unmask the sinister figures behind the game, and

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<v Speaker 1>in season three, which drops on Netflix on June twenty seven,

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<v Speaker 1>we leap into the future for something that the director

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<v Speaker 1>is promising will be darker and more humorous. Is class.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you think the main driving force in this story?

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<v Speaker 1>Is that really what it's about?

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<v Speaker 2>I think season three is an actual extension of the

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<v Speaker 2>themes of season two, and it's focused on tribalism. Season

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<v Speaker 2>one was really about how capitalism and desperate economic circumstances

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<v Speaker 2>push people to impossible, deadly decisions like risking life and

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<v Speaker 2>limb in front of a giant pigtailed.

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<v Speaker 1>Murderers dole.

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<v Speaker 2>What. But this season introduces a very interesting twist. After

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<v Speaker 2>each round of the games, the players get to vote

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<v Speaker 2>on whether to end the game early. If the game

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<v Speaker 2>ends prematurely, they split the prize money evenly, which is

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<v Speaker 2>kind of a classic game show dilemma, but in the

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<v Speaker 2>hands of like Squid Games director becomes a really intense

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<v Speaker 2>and uncomfortable social experiment.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the things about dystopian television, I think is

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<v Speaker 1>that there's a hope that the White Night will come,

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<v Speaker 1>it will all be solved, you know, you get some

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<v Speaker 1>clarity at the end. Do you feel like Squid Game

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<v Speaker 1>is going there or is it just going to be

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<v Speaker 1>quite dystopian right through to the end, do you think?

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<v Speaker 2>I think recently there's kind of been an interest in

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<v Speaker 2>the sort of eat the rich television and it has

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<v Speaker 2>that anger, but it doesn't really offer any answers. And

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<v Speaker 2>if I'm being like totally honest, I don't think that's

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<v Speaker 2>why people like the show. I don't think they're interested

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<v Speaker 2>in it because it's a scathing critique of wealth. Just

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<v Speaker 2>like people I'm not interested in the White Lotus. They

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<v Speaker 2>want to just see rich people teary each other apart,

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<v Speaker 2>I think squid game is just captivating because of the

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<v Speaker 2>style and spectacle of it, the candy colored corridors and

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<v Speaker 2>the pink jumpsuits and the insane.

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<v Speaker 1>Violence coming up. How Korean taxpayers funded this global culture takeover.

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<v Speaker 1>Part of Korea's kind of revolution is that this is

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<v Speaker 1>a very connected society. A huge population living on half

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<v Speaker 1>a tiny island helps. They're very close together, They're all

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<v Speaker 1>plugged in. What's different about the vision of Korean culture

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<v Speaker 1>that's been exported to the world. I'm thinking particularly about

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<v Speaker 1>k pop? Why is it so captivating?

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<v Speaker 2>Technology is the source of South Korea. Back in twenty ten,

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<v Speaker 2>it rolled up broadband to nearly every household, years ahead

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<v Speaker 2>of most countries. And it wasn't just about like zippy

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<v Speaker 2>and fast downloads. It was part of a much bigger picture,

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<v Speaker 2>which was a national strategy to modernize the economy and

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<v Speaker 2>push Korean culture onto the world stage.

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<v Speaker 1>And was that a government funded If it was.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I like to think of it as like a

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<v Speaker 2>state back charm offensive. The South Korean government clocked early

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<v Speaker 2>that these like glossy and gorgeous capeop idols were worth billions,

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<v Speaker 2>not just in like streaming revenue, but in soft power

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<v Speaker 2>like people are obsessed with their fashion and it's been

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<v Speaker 2>a massive boost for tourism. People want to go to

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<v Speaker 2>career and see how their favorite capup idols live. And

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<v Speaker 2>I think since the nineteen nineties, the Ministry of Culture,

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<v Speaker 2>Sports and Tourism has treated k pop the way that

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<v Speaker 2>other nations treat like steel or aircraft as national infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 2>So it invests in training programs, music video production overseas,

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<v Speaker 2>showcases global marketing campaigns, and funnels money into the industry

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<v Speaker 2>because it knows that these stars sell more than songs,

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<v Speaker 2>They sell the country itself.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow, that is actually quite dystopian and fabulous. Yeah, and

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<v Speaker 1>so are films like Parasite informed by that? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>is the kind of art house cinema for all of

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<v Speaker 1>a better word that's coming out of Korea as well

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<v Speaker 1>a rejection of that? Or are they also funding the

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<v Speaker 1>depressing art house cinema blockbusters the weird oscars? Well.

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<v Speaker 2>The Korean film industry is supported by government funding through

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<v Speaker 2>bodies like the Korean Film Council that helps directors take chances,

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<v Speaker 2>and they have mentored directors like Long Jun Ho and

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<v Speaker 2>Park Chen Wook who did Old Boy, or teurs that

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<v Speaker 2>mix irony and social critique without worrying about global palatability,

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<v Speaker 2>which I think has actually benefited the Korean government because

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<v Speaker 2>most Hollywood movies don't have anything to say.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, we're in the Marvel era, aren't we That's the

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<v Speaker 1>backdrop to these kinds of films. So are they stepping

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<v Speaker 1>into a sort of ideas void that Hollywood's created?

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<v Speaker 2>I think so. Yes. Hollywood is terrified, at risk and

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<v Speaker 2>obsessed with pre sold franchises.

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<v Speaker 1>It has spent the.

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<v Speaker 2>Past two decades, like post Iron Man, doubling down on superheroes,

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<v Speaker 2>Disney Life, Action remakes, sequels, or YadA YadA, YadA yadda,

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<v Speaker 2>because they know that original ideas do not guarantee global

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<v Speaker 2>return and intellectual property like Star Wars and Marvel and

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<v Speaker 2>Harry Potter is bankable in every territory, like you don't

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<v Speaker 2>have to explain Spider Man to Shanghai or Paris. But

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<v Speaker 2>the Korean public is famously film literate pre pandemic, they

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<v Speaker 2>were buying more cinematickets per capita than anywhere else in

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<v Speaker 2>the world. So while Hollywood played it, say, I sort

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<v Speaker 2>of flogging nostalgia career back to regionality and as winning.

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<v Speaker 1>Jordie Gray is the entertainment reporter with The Australian. You

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<v Speaker 1>can read her story in today's review section, imprint or

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<v Speaker 1>online at the Australian dot com do a you slash review.

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<v Speaker 1>This episode of the Front was hosted by me Claire

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<v Speaker 1>Harvey and produced by Jasper League. Thanks for joining us

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<v Speaker 1>on the Front this week. Our team also includes Kristin

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<v Speaker 1>amyot Leatt, Samaglue, Tiffany Dimak, Josh Burton and Stephanie Coombs.