[Open Radio YTN] Squid Game Season 2, popularity and controversy are "the best ever."

[Open Radio YTN]

■ Broadcast: YTN Radio FM 94.5 (20:20-21:00)
■ Air date: January 11, 2025 (Saturday)
■ Host: announcer Choi Hwi
■ Dialogue: Kim Heon-sik, cultural critic

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◇ Announcer Choi Hwi (hereinafter referred to as Choi Hwi): It's a new media trend. Today, we will meet in person with new media trend and cultural critic Kim Heon-sik. Welcome.

◆ Kim Heon-sik, cultural critic (hereinafter referred to as Kim Heon-sik): Yes. Hello.

◇ Choi Hwi: Yes. Hello. Critic, the story that people talk about once when they get together these days is a review of "Squid Game 2". Did you see the reviewer?

◆ Kim Heon-sik: Yes. It was released on December 26th. I saw it that night. But it consists of seven episodes. Watch up to episode 5

◇ Have you ever hung up?

◆ Kim Heon-sik: Yes. I thought, "I'll save episode 6 and episode 7." So I fell asleep at 3:30. I woke up for a while and finished it while using public transportation.
◇ [CHOI] You saw it. There are a lot of likes and dislikes. What do you think, personally? I don't like it.

◆ Kim Heon-sik: I think it's 'Ho-Ho'.

◇ Choi Hwi: Did you give me a better score for 'Ho-Ho' ramen than 'Ho-Ho'?

◆ Kim Heon-sik: I did it because it was cold. I'm just kidding. I was bored at first. There was a boring side, but getting out of that boring side was a bit exciting. In season one, actually... I thought about whether to watch it or not in the first episode. Because it's so cruel, "Why on earth do I have to watch this survival game?" But I'm in a position where I have to watch and evaluate it. After watching two or three episodes, I was so curious about the latter part. So in the case of Season 2, I watched about episode 7 so I was curious about the next one. I understand the boring parts at first. It's a situation where I'm looking forward to it again.

◇ As you said, season 2 is a bit... I think I left a lot. There are a lot of people waiting for season 3. First of all, I think my grades are good. I heard you're already watching Netflix. What do you think?

◆ Kim Heon-sik: Now we have to look at this separately. First of all, many media outlets criticized me, not favorable comments. I think there were people who didn't have high expectations. But there were so many fans, so I think they watched it regardless of such criticism. So it was released in 93 countries. On the first day after this was released, it topped 92 countries and was ranked No. 1 in the world. And on the 2nd day, we won first place in 93 countries, and we won first place globally. So we've consistently topped the chart. So in this regard, I think, "That's amazing." However, the No. 1 country has fallen a little bit as time goes by.So it was a situation where it fell to about 70 countries. When there are so many fans, it's because there's an explosive reaction at first. However, the viewing time for Squid Game 2 was 4.58 billion hours in the fourth week of December. But the number of viewers divided by this running time is 68 million. In the case of the previous one, Squid Game 1, it was 440 million hours, so it set a record that broke the record of the previous four. In the case of non-English speaking, the No. 1 drama is Squid Game Season 1. But season 2 is already in second place. In any case, the objective data level is exploding to the point where the point of view is, "Will we change the number one non-English speaking?"

◇ Choi Hwi: Yes, you said there were a lot of criticisms earlier, but what do you think is the background of the criticism?

◆ Kim Heon-sik: First of all, the New York Times said, "It shows more stylish breeding, but the story is stagnant." And even in the case of USA Today, "It's more still violent, but it's disappointing rather than a shock." Unsharp and originality disappeared. It can't even convey an anti-capitalist message." The Guardian is Hollywood's bad habit of splitting more heavily into three episodes. I said, "I split the story in half to double the profit." And I said, "It's extremely painful to drag on the story." And what you have to think about when you're dealing with this is... It is true that the original season 2 story was split into two. And season 2 is divided into these two, so I told you a little bit of boredom earlier. I can explain the reason like this. In the case of season 1, I heard that it was a work that went too far for about 10 years in Korea, so I didn't receive investment. It wasn't made. So Netflix is giving you pre-support production money, so there is no such case in Korea. That's why I made it right away. So I gave everything and completed it. As a result, almost 99.9% of the characters lost their lives and disappeared. You can't save them all, not just one or two, can you? a
that played the role of a river's dawn
◇ Choi Hwi: In season one.

◆ Kim Heon-sik: Yes. In the case of Jeong Ho-yeon, who played a strong role in season 1, there was a rumor that she would be revived as a twin sister again. Since it costs too much to produce, they change it to new people. This time, Kang Noeul played that role. He plays the role of a North Korean defector. So the characteristic of this Netflix Squid Game is that it shows all the stories of new characters at the beginning. So season 2 is the same as the previous one. So, it's a kind of groundbreaking or story. That's why those who only saw the front part have no choice but to criticize it because it could have been boring. I can explain it like this.

◇ Season 2 is a bit of a warm-up.

◆ Kim Heon-sik: That's right.

◇ Choi Hwi: If the main thing is to show a certain narrative of the characters, "Season 3 is real."

◆ Kim Heon-sik: Yes. That's right.

◇ CHI YH: Well... You gave me such high expectations. If the 2nd and 3rd episodes were released at once without splitting, the evaluation might have been different, right?

◆ [Kim Hun-sik] It would have been like this. So, let's not split into seasons 2 and 3. If you did it on one side without separating it, it would have been compressed. For example. In case of season 1, it's episode 9. And in case of season 2, it's already episode 7. Then even if there's a similar amount, it's going to be episode 14. From that point of view, we're talking enough. In that sense, if you put the two together... It's compressible, so it's highly likely that it's fast.

◇ Choi Hwi: Yes. At the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in the United States, the final award for Best Picture went up in smoke. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk also said, "What... I didn't expect to win the second prize this season," he said. Why did the award fail?

◆ Kim Heon-sik: I think it's the greed of the Golden Globes. I think I put a lot of spoons on it. Because in order to be nominated at the Golden Globes, it has to be revealed. But I think it's an expedient to be nominated first when it's not revealed to the first viewers. It's because I got it in advance and did that. But the fact that I'm nominated for best picture when it's not been revealed... I thought, "Isn't it a measure taken for some halo effect of the Squid Game?" As you said, director Hwang Dong-hyuk was also shocked. Because he was nominated for a best picture award even before it was released.

◇ Choi Hwi: Since you're nominated...

◆ Kim Heon-sik: So I said, "I didn't even expect it." Anyway, because I once said, "It's very good because it's in the top 6 of the same works that came out in a year, but I'm going to aim for season 3." After all, seasons 2 and 3 are one body. It is accurate and objective to see and evaluate both. So it's right to expect the award next year according to an objective evaluation.

◇ Choi Hwi: Yes. I see. That's all for today's talk. Thank you.

◆ Kim Heon-sik: Yes. Thank you.

◇ Choi Hwi: This has been with cultural critic Kim Heon-sik.