Abstract
The nine-episode Korean-language series Squid Game became a global sensation immediately upon its premiere on Netflix in September 2021. The show’s popularity and critical acclaim in the anglophone world had been unprecedented for a non-English series. This review provides a symptomatic reading of Squid Game’s global success and a short analysis of its visual appeal. It also explores the tension between Squid Game’s smooth and flat aesthetics that enables the show to travel and the culturally specific contexts it references. Some argue that the aesthetics lead to an ahistorical and superficial cultural understanding that overlooks the complexities of Korea’s history and US imperialism. Others argue that they challenge cultural hierarchies and democratize interactions. This reflects a broader challenge of balancing global accessibility with cultural specificity faced by East Asian serial dramas in the era of global streaming services. This review concludes by highlighting the role of platform cosmopolitanism in bridging cultural and linguistic barriers in meaningful ways.
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