On Monday 4th November, the Centre of Korean Studies hosted UCLA’s Professor Suk-Young Kim, who gave fascinating talk on the Netflix phenomenon Squid Game. The event was part of a four-city speaker tour coordinated by the British Association of Korean Studies .
Professor Kim’s talk, titled ‘Surviving Squid Game: Designing the Maze of Psychological Terror’ spoke to an audience of staff, students and members of the public about the first Asian-language drama to top Netflix’s global ranking.
Drawing on her expertise in Theatre and Drama (Northwestern University) and Slavic Language and Literature (Univ. of Illinois Chicago), Professor Kim explored Squid Game’s phantasmagoric set and costume design as a cultural aspect of visual storytelling.
Professor Kim explained how the set design drew parallels from relatable imagery from popular culture, comparing the use of the triangle theme with the use of similar set design in popular Korean reality KPop contest Produce 101. She also explained the connection between Squid Game’s famous staircase set and the staircase drawings of MC Escher.
The talk also gave a fascinating insight into techniques used by the directors for dramatic effect. She explained that the majority of the set used for the ‘games’ such as ‘tug of war’ and ‘stepping stones’ used full scale apparatus with minimal CGI to induce real fear in the actors.
This was Professor Kim’s second visit to Sheffield, having joined us to celebrate 40 years of Korean Studies at Sheffield in 2019, and we hope to welcome her again in future.
Keep an eye on the Centre of Korean Studies website for our upcoming events.