To truly understand Squid Game, viewers must be familiar with the uniquely Korean concept of han

Slate

"The show’s runaway global success has been attributed to themes that viewers around the world can identify with: widespread socio-economic disparity and the desperation that comes with it," says Ashley Oh. "But to really understand the full power of the show, you also have to understand han, a uniquely Korean concept that can be loosely translated to a form of intense grief and unresolved resentment. The prominence of han rose during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and then again during the Korean War—explaining its close association with a sense of injustice and involuntary loss—and still is a core part of Korean identity and experience today. (It likely lives in every old woman’s pained proclamation of 'aigoo!') To Koreans, han influences every dispute on some level, every feeling of misery and helplessness. It lives in each grand display of emotion, each trademark staccato wail by mourners when someone dies—an outward explosion of feeling after bubbling inside like an angry stew. With han in mind, the most powerful moments in Squid Game start to take on a new dimension, where high-stakes turning points are not just plot, but expressions of a deep-seated individual and collective struggle against feeling wronged. In case you’ve been living under a rock (and don’t mind spoilers): Squid Game centers on Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae) and other hard-on-their-luck people who agree to participate in a series of deadly childhood games for a cash prize. Early on, Gi-hun, a divorcé and gambling addict who lives with his mother, finds out that his daughter and her new family are moving to the United States. Gi-hun’s mother tells him that if he doesn’t do something, his daughter will forget how to speak Korean, and he’ll eventually become a stranger to her. This is the precipitating crisis for Gi-hun, and one of the reasons he signs up for the game: What’s at stake is not just money, but his tenuous connection to his daughter and her ties to their language and culture."

ALSO:

• Squid Game's behind-the-scenes videos are both relieving and intense as hell
• Go behind the scenes of Squid Game dubbing
• Chrissy Teigen called "beyond tone deaf" for her lavish Squid Game-themed party