Narrator: There are hidden meanings
and political references all over "Squid Game."
The show highlights economic differences in South Korea
and even inspired a massive union strike across the country.
But how did a show that criticizes capitalism
at every turn become a monster moneymaker?
We decoded the cryptic messages
of the biggest series on Netflix.
This colorful staircase was inspired
by a print from Dutch surrealist M.C. Escher.
The original work is called "Relativity"
and represents a space where the rules of gravity
don't exist.
That can be compared to the Squid Game,
where the rules of the real world don't apply.
The show's two most prominent colors
also have hidden meaning.
The players wear green,
a popular color from the Saemaul movement of the 1970s.
It was a community program aimed at modernizing rural areas.
Pink usually represents fairy tales,
but here, the guards wear it,
defying that stereotype.
Yet the walls where the guards live are painted green,
the same color as the players' uniforms.
The high contrast of pink and green
could be seen as two rival teams
playing the same game.
At first, it seems the guards are in charge,
holding guns and carrying out killings.
But as the show progresses,
it's clear they also have to follow rules
to stay alive, like hiding their faces.
This could be seen as a metaphor for capitalism.
The players represent the working class,
and the guards, the middle class.
And at the end of the day,
both groups are pawns.
The guards also have ranks.
Squares are at the top.
They supervise the other guards.
Those with triangles are in the middle.
They are allowed to carry weapons.
Guards with circles clean up dead bodies.
They can only speak when they're spoken to.
The art director said the hierarchy
is based on the number of vertices
or edges in each shape.
Meanwhile, the one really calling the shots
mostly watches the game from the comfort
of a private room.
Front Man can be seen as a symbol of the upper class,
who often make decisions from their corner offices
while having little contact with the people on the ground.
He also resembles Darth Vader,
and just like the "Star Wars" villain,
his power is limited.
The real power rests with the VIPs,
who represent the uber-wealthy billionaires.
They bet on games while enjoying plenty of food and drinks,
a representation of the abundance of resources
often available to the wealthy.
Meanwhile, the players receive little food,
are assigned numbers, and forced to sleep
in backed bunk beds.
Fans on Reddit pointed out
these are references to the Holocaust.
The director even said these furnaces
were modeled after the ones in Auschwitz.
And these are the only white American characters
on the show, a commentary on colonialism
and US influence in Korea.
The show's creator, Hwang Dong-Hyuk,
came up with the drama during the 2008 financial crisis,
but he didn't think the world
was fully ready for "Squid Game"
until Donald Trump was elected.
He even says one of the VIPs resembles Trump.
The golden masks also show off the power
the VIPs have over the players.
Some masks resemble predators
who sit at the top of the food chain,
like the lion and the tiger.
These characters have been criticized
for playing into harmful homophobic tropes.
VIP: You're all mine.
Narrator: And also for the bad acting.
VIP: If you don't do what I say,
I will kill you before I leave.
Narrator: The games themselves
are also full of hidden messages.
The tug-of-war could be seen as an allegory
of how capitalism encourages the working class
to compete for basic things
like jobs, housing, and even food.
And sometimes they have to rely on pure luck
to move ahead and stay alive,
like in the glass bridge game.
The show even provides a visual metaphor in this scene
where the VIP moves chess pieces
that represent each player.
The most successful players in the "Squid Game"
need to be comfortable defeating
and even killing their friends --
a reference to how corporate culture
can reward people who step on each other
as they move up the ladder.
In South Korea, the show is inspiring change.
Thousands of union workers wore "Squid Game" outfits
at a recent labor protest.
They called for job security and a minimum wage hike.
Some said that just like the characters
on the survival drama,
they're struggling to make a living.
Now, North Korea is using "Squid Game"
to slam the South,
even though it's not available to watch there.
A state-run website says,
"The show highlights the beastly nature
of South Korean capitalist society,
where mankind is annihilated by extreme competition."
But the site fails to mention the North Korean defector
who's competing for money to bring her mother to the South.
Some viewers noticed she actually switched
to a North Korean dialect
to soothe her brother in this scene.
The show also has many hidden references
to South Korea's past.
This doll was inspired by Young-hee,
a character from popular 1970s Korean textbooks.
She sings "The mugunghwa flower has bloomed"
during the Red Light, Green Light game.
Mugunghwa, or hibiscus,
is Korea's national flower
and is also mentioned in the country's anthem.
Experts say it is a symbol of Korean resilience
under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
An actual version of this doll
lives in the museum of carriages in Jincheon County,
and the "Squid Game" crew borrowed it during production.
The honeycomb candy, or dalgona,
goes back to the 1950s during the Korean War.
Parents made it for their children
because it was cheaper than American candy
that became popular at that time.
The players' tracksuits are also a throwback.
They look like the field day school uniforms
from the 1990s.
The show also sneaks in a reference
to a standoff between police and workers
during a strike at Korean automaker
SsangYong Motors.
SsangYong means double dragon,
and the main character joins the game
after he's laid off from a fictional car factory
called Dragon Motors.
"Squid Game" became the No. 1 show on Netflix
in over 90 countries in record time.
More than 130 million people have watched it.
Users all over the world are rushing
to learn Korean on language-learning apps.
Sales for white Vans sneakers
like the ones from the show have gone up 7,800%.
One Korean vendor reported
dalgona candy sales up 250%,
and restaurants are even attracting guests
by offering the honeycomb challenge.
All of this is a testament
to the show's popularity across the world.