What's Going On?! - A Short & Sweet World News Brief - Right of Reply
Sophia Ceccucci, External Affairs
December 5, 2021
This article is based on a segment of Right of Reply’s podcast episode: ‘What’s Going On?! - A Short & Sweet World News Brief. For questions about the following content, please reach out to Right of Reply’s directors.
In recent years, pop culture and diplomatic communications have become increasingly connected. The premiere of Netflix’s Squid Game and its accurate depiction of the South Korean economic experience is a prime example of this phenomenon. The Queen’s International Affairs Association’s podcast, Right of Reply, hosted by Zander Van Asperen and Jason Anderson, recently discussed an article written in Foreign Policy magazine by Robbie Gramer, Jack Detsch, and Amy Mackinnon entitled, “State Department Cable Sees Echos of Korean Politics in Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’”.
A diplomatic cable is a tool used by diplomats to communicate with the state department, analyze trends within a country, report on important meetings, and make policy recommendations. Xander and Jason were rightfully impressed by the intersection of politics and pop culture that was represented through the use of the cable to discuss Squid Game’s impact on the South Korean public.
The cable discusses how Squid Game represents how average Koreans generally feel frustrated because of their struggles to find employment, marriage, and upward economic mobility. The public attributes this feeling of hopelessness to poor economic prospects. The cable also points out that South Korea has had the highest suicide rate among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations since 2003. Suicide has become the leading cause of death for Koreans ages 19-29 which suggests that Korean youth are not hopeful for their futures.
One of the main issues in Korean society that Squid Game addresses is debt, as household debt in the nation has grown significantly in recent years and is now equal to the country’s annual GDP. By contrast, the United States’ household debt is equal to about 80% of its GDP. This debt can be attributed to many things that the show focuses on like gambling, unemployment, and credit card spending. However, a large portion of this debt is made up of real estate investments. For example, housing prices have risen 58% in Seoul over the last 4 years, which has caused many people to obtain loans through financial institutions. Unfortunately, when they run out, it is common for people to get higher interest loans from lenders and loan sharks. With the average income in Korea being $42,000, many people are forced into agreements that are difficult or impossible to fulfill.
This frustration in Korean civil society is exacerbated by the current political climate. President Moon Jae-in from the Democratic Party is resigning, and the two main contenders Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party and Yoon Seok-youl of the opposition People Power Party both have fairly serious scandals on their hands. Lee Jae-myung is suspected of giving preferential treatment to a controversial real estate firm, and Yoon Seok-youl has been accused of financial wrongdoing. The cable also discusses how the presidential contenders are campaigning on creating a “fair and just” society, but Korean youth are still cynical about their futures. These concerns, coupled with existing economic concerns, are perhaps one of the reasons why the show has been performing so well in Korea.
Beyond the scandals that the two-party leaders are facing, Korean youth are expressing their frustrations with politics by using their votes to speak out against the Democratic Party (DP). In recent municipal elections in Seoul and Busan, more than half the voters in their 20s and 30s voted for People Power Party (PPP) candidates instead of the incumbent DP candidates. This may be attributed to both of the incumbents having sexual misconduct scandals, which caused the elections to happen in the first place. The increase in popularity for the PPP also speaks to an overall lack of support for the DP. Moon and his DP federal government have overseen a housing crisis in Seoul, but they tried to recover from this by creating a rent ceiling. Unfortunately, their plan backfired when political elites and their landlord friends raised the rent in most Seoul apartment buildings in the weeks before the bill came into law. Some tenants saw a 14% increase in rent just two days before the bill was passed. This housing crisis also caused more people to obtain loans from illegitimate lenders, exacerbating the economic crisis.
These economic and political concerns are not unique to Korean society, as many people outside of the country have also resonated with the anti-capitalist themes expressed through Squid Game. Jason notes in the Right of Reply podcast that the anti-capitalist and class-conscious narratives that are coming up in Korean media, like Squid Game and Parasite, may suggest that it’s time for some change. It’s clear the Korean people, especially the youth, are not satisfied with the current economic climate. Political and economic change should be on the horizon.