One of the things that I wish I did when I was younger is to join a Korea Prayer Study Tour (KPST). There were a lot of KPSTs while I was growing up. So if I ever visit South Korea, I’d like to go to a prayer mountain first. Then I’ll visit the Bobath Memorial Hospital because I regained my confidence in handling patients with cerebral palsy thanks to the “South Korean way” of implementing neurodevelopmental treatment. I’d also like to learn farming at Yonsei’s Canaan Farm. Then I’ll go cafe-hopping in those super aesthetic Korean coffee shops!
But I’ll never go to North Korea even if you pay me. I’ve also never heard any person in his right mind say that he’d like to attend public dawn watch prayer meetings in Pyongyang or study at Kim Il-Sung University. That’s because going to communist North Korea is like signing up for the death competition in Squid Game.
The Netflix top grosser has been touted as anti-capitalist. While it might go the pro-socialist route (which is sad), I don’t think the series’ creators are dumb enough to push for communism. Despite all their flaws, it’s obvious that capitalist societies (as represented by South Korea in Squid Game) are still better than communist ones.
But if capitalism is so great, how come there’s so much suffering in countries that embrace it? That’s because capitalism is only the voluntary exchange of products. It is neither the Pyongyang Revival nor the Second Coming. For this economic system to benefit low-income groups, a country needs to have a government that protects individual rights and its people must have a strong moral compass.
At the same time, you can only have those if capitalists adequately fund them. The state can keep us safe only if it can collect income and corporate taxes. Even churches have to be run like businesses to an extent so that they can raise funds for supporting their mission to teach virtuous living.
The Philippines in Squid Game
Yet capitalism does have limits. For one, capitalist societies allow opportunities for individuals to make bad decisions that can lead to financial ruin provided that they’re not infringing on other people’s right to live freely. Then their desperation for money will cloud their judgment to the point that they’ll clamor for authoritarianism or commit suicide. Squid Game depicted this quite powerfully through many of the players, especially in Jang Deok-su and Seong Gi-Hun’s arcs.
I don’t speak Korean so I might have missed something important about Deok-su. But based on the subtitles, he lost a lot of money by gambling in the Philippines. He must have been playing against extremely wealthy Filipinos because his debtors could afford to track him, board their thugs on a plane to South Korea, book hotel rooms for them, rent vehicles so they could chase Deok-su around, and pay them for their troubles.
Wow! Deok-su must have been gambling in the most high-end Philippine casinos like Solaire and Okada Manila! That means he was wealthier than most Filipinos. If he really wanted to make money off the Philippines, he should have just become a vlogger. After all, he could afford a good camera, a high-quality video editor, and tickets for going around our various tourist spots. He could’ve made a lot of profit with YouTube videos like, “Why This Korean Loves Baguio” or “A Korean in Boracay”. Who knows, he could’ve broken into Philippine showbiz. He might even become a bigger star than Sandara Park! Alas, he didn’t play the other games that capitalism had to offer.
Then there’s Seong Gi-Hun. Why did he venture into a fried chicken business in a country where there’s fried chicken in every corner? There was also nothing in his credentials that indicated that he knew how to manage one. And if he really wanted to sell chicken, he should have sold something different, like chicken inasal. At the same time, maybe there should’ve been state policies that would prevent a “fried chicken bubble”. Again, I’m only basing this on the subtitles.
The VIPs’ Ivory Tower
Perhaps Squid Game’s greatest criticism against capitalism is that the people who acquired the most wealth in the free market are the ones who are pushing the masses to clamor for communism. It’s not only because they want all the money and power to themselves. It’s also because they’re so comfortable that their bored minds are spinning luxury beliefs about how the world should be.
The problem is that many of their ivory tower ideas will push the masses to bankruptcy. When the wealthy consider themselves as enlightened for promoting sexual promiscuity or for adhering to radical feminism, their money will spare them from many of those luxury beliefs’ devastating consequences.
Ordinary people, on the other hand, might go bankrupt over hospital bills if they get HIV-AIDS. Many do not have the profitable skills to land well-paying jobs that can support their children if they become single parents. Those kids will most likely be deprived of formal education and the psychological benefits of two-parent households, thus entrapping them in a poverty cycle. The resulting desperation might drive these people to make bad financial decisions. Many will commit crimes just to have money. The resulting chaos will compel the masses to yearn for socialist or communist policies that will make them more miserable.
Meanwhile, the elite will enjoy Netflix dramas about the poor’s despair. No other series has captured this reality better than Squid Game. And therein lies its brilliance.
(Photo by Andy Hermawan)
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