S. Korea Netflix Mega Hit 'Squid Game' Premieres in Seoul after Martial Law

Squid Game is back. Netflix's most popular show ever, a dystopian South Korean vision of divided society, premieres its highly-anticipated second season on Monday as Seoul battles real-life policial chaos.
The show's return comes just days after South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol triggered a national crisis by briefly declaring martial law, until he was forced into a dramatic reversal by determined lawmakers, who battled heavily-armed soldiers in parliament to vote it down, AFP said.
Yoon remains in office having survived an impeachment bid, with his party accused of staging a "second coup" to cling on to power, the opposition vowing to try to remove him again, and massive street protests expected this weekend.
"Squid Game", an ultra-violent tale exploring themes of division and inequality, is considered to be one of the most significant works in solidifying South Korea's status as a global cultural powerhouse, alongside the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" and K-pop megastars BTS.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, who wrote and directed both seasons of the show, said he was feeling "heavy-hearted" by what happened in his country ahead of the show's second season red carpet premiere on Monday, with global release set for December 26.
"It is extremely unfortunate and infuriating... that the entire nation cannot sleep due to such absurd circumstances," he said at a press conference in Seoul.
Due to the political chaos, South Koreans have had "to take to the streets, and must spend the end of the year filled with anxiety, fear, and depression," he said, adding he had stayed up all night to watch the martial law events unfold in live news broadcasts.
He urged "the person responsible" for the real-life drama, President Yoon, to accept responsibility "whether it is through impeachment or voluntary resignation."
'In the abyss'
Squid Game Season 2 introduces several new young characters, including a "crypto expert" who has amassed significant debt and a transgender person who cannot afford gender confirmation surgery.
The main protagonist, Seong Gi-hun, played by megastar Lee Jung-jae, returns and joins the game again.
The second season takes place -- spoiler alert -- three years after Gi-hun won first time around, and he is determined to bring down the organization responsible for the violent life-and-death games.
The original show, released in 2021, was a high point for the "Hallyu" or Korean wave -- the seemingly inexorable rise of South Korean content first noticed by many in the West after Psy's 2012 breakout hit song "Gangnam Style".
But embattled President Yoon has put all this at risk, 3,000 people in the film industry said in a statement this week.
Hallyu has "fallen into the abyss" thanks to Yoon's decision to declare martial law, the group, which includes luminaries like "Parasite" director Bong Joon-ho, said Sunday.
During the six hours of martial law, it was announced that "all media and publications shall be subject to the control of the Martial Law Command".
"No matter how much cinematic imagination is employed, what seems like a mere delusion has happened in reality," the statement by the South Koreans in the film industry said, calling for Yoon's exit and arrest.
"For Korean filmmakers, Yoon Suk Yeol is no longer the president. He is just a red-handed criminal for treason."
Most watched show
The show's first season was loosely inspired by South Korea's real-life tragedy of a crackdown on a 2009 Ssangyong Motor strike, which resulted in around 30 people taking their own lives or dying of stress-related causes.
The series highlighted some of the most marginalized individuals in the fiercely competitive South, like a North Korean defector and a laid-off, indebted worker.
The story unfolds as they compete in traditional children's games for a chance to win an unimaginable fortune in somewhat mysterious circumstances, with all losing players facing death.
The first season still holds the record as the streaming giant's most popular series of all time, boasting more than 330 million views as of Monday.
Hwang said Monday the reason why the first season of "Squid Game" was so successful was because it had "links" to the real-life "society we live in".
Even in the upcoming second season, viewers will be able to "find scenes that connect the absurd conflicts, divisions, and upheavals happening in our country and around the world," he said.
"Watching 'Squid Game' will not come across as something that is particularly detached from how we view the world."

Netflix shares rose about 3% in premarket trading on Monday as the streaming giant's upbeat annual revenue outlook reassured investors that it could withstand any economic downturn amid a tariff laden economic climate.

The company's co-CEO Greg Peters noted that the entertainment sector, and Netflix specifically, had proven resilient during previous downturns.

Peters said they had not seen any significant shifts in customer behavior, after the company reported first-quarter earnings above analysts' expectations on Thursday.

Netflix also reaffirmed its 2025 revenue forecast of between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion.

These remarks offered some respite to investors who were worried that President Donald Trump's tariff policies could likely lead to a recession, forcing consumers to rein in spending on streaming services.

"Even in a global recession scenario, Netflix is likely to be highly resilient given the price-to-value of the service remains very attractive," said Jeffrey Wlodarczak, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group, who is five-star rated for both estimate accuracy and recommendation performance, as per LSEG data.

"Their advertising business should demonstrate strong growth in any scenario given its nascent state," Wlodarczak said.

The lower-priced, ad-supported tier accounted for 55% of new sign-ups in countries where it is available, Netflix said.

"While advertising is a small portion of the business today, the longer-term prospects are notably robust...while investments in ad-tech capabilities should drive healthy growth for years to come," BofA Global Research analysts said.

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix aims to double revenue from $39 billion in 2024 and earn about $9 billion in global ad sales by 2030.

The company has upped the ante on delivering steady revenue growth as it ceased reporting subscriber data from this year, leaving Wall Street with fewer metrics to gauge its health.

Peers Walt Disney and Warner Bros Discovery shares were down under 1% each in premarket trading.

At least seven brokerages raised price target for Netflix following its results, bringing the median target to $1,147.50, according to data compiled by LSEG.

S. Korea Netflix Mega Hit 'Squid Game' Premieres in Seoul after Martial Law