Fernández 1 Andrea L. Fernández Professor Robert Berkman NMDM 5312A Media Ethics 20 April 2022 오징어 게임: 1 Ethics, Privacy and Technology in Squid Game Abstract: This paper analyzes the role of ethics, privacy and technology in Netflix’s South Korean survival drama, Squid Game (2021). The show’s popularity hinges on its mordant critique of capitalism, particularly the global disappearance of the middle class. This tension between personal and communal survival intersects with despair, surveillance and the illusion of consent. Keywords: Squid Game, South Korea, Netflix, Marxism, ethics, privacy, media, technology. I. Introduction Squid Game, the South Korean survival drama created by Hwang Dong-hyuk for Netflix, premiered on September 17, 2021. By November of the same year, the show had amassed 1.65 billion watch hours within the first 28 days of its release, making it the service’s most watched series to date (Spangler). The story follows 456 indebted “volunteers” who “choose” to play childhood games. The twist lies in that each player’s death adds ₩100 million ($8,949.78) to the potential ₩45.6 billion grand prize ($3,742,636.82)--winner or winners take all. Divorced father Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), is our window into the abyss as player 456. After being kidnapped, 1 오징어 게임, pronounced “Ojing-eo Geim.”