Other then pushing K-dramas into international scenes, maybe one of Squid Game's effect is the burring of K-dramas and K-movies. Stories with edgy theme and content were only seen in Korean movies. Squid Game is basically a long form of a K-movie disguised as a K K-drama, so K-dramas will be more similar to their movies, and get into some stories that may not be possible to air solely in TV stations (even cable TVs like JTBC and tvN, as Snowdrop shown in recent weeks--if this show can only be aired on JTBC alone, I doubt if it can survive till the finale, quality aside ...). This is a good thing.

On the other hand, there is a threat that more and more K-dramas/movies is being more like to Hollywood production. Before Squid Game, even there is an adaption from a foreign drama/movie, there is still some kind of Korean characteristics (notable example: Designated Survivor: Designated Survivor: 60 Days and The World of the Married, adapted from an American and a BBC drama, respectively). The upcoming Korean version of Money Heist make me fear that K-dramas will lost its own feel and style. No doubt Netflix (and many other stream platform like Disney+)'s funding may have make some productions (beginning from Mr. Sunshine, which re-introduce me back to K-dramaland, as well Arthdal Chronicles, which is by definition the most expensive K-production as a whole by far) possible, but it may have made Korean production being "Korean" a lot more difficult.

Squid Game was movie production quality on the small screen. Large international budget funding is the cause and curse of future blockbuster series. American TV is geared toward seasons while kdramas are self contained one run story telling. Netflix funded productions offer A-list stars with higher expectations but greater chance of disappointment. You can see Western influences begin to creep into Korean scripts. And Korean syntax is not being correctly translated in shows. The biggest criticism in Squid Game was the VIP dialogue being straight from Google translate.

International streaming platforms are about increasing content for binge viewers. Kdrama live shoot filming is difficult to feed that content monster. We are seeing more preproduction of series but in Korea that is a big financial risk since producers are not paid until an episode is aired on TV. Hollywood method of paying upfront would help companies and staff, but leads to more production input from investors.

Squid Game is giving more Koreans an opportunity to make a mark in the US and elsewhere. But even pioneer Korean actors in Hollywood still find it a very difficult proposition to succeed at the level of American actors.

Lol it was just another drama for me. Predictable but the acting really drove the point home. If anything, if gave people who don't know Korean dramas a taste of what it could be. I'm glad it's getting even more recognized around the world. They got lucky with the timing coz story-wise, it could have been Signal or Secret Forest.

My complaint about its fame though is that everyone capitalized on it including Roblox. Kids on the playground play red light green light as they did in Squid Game, the it "shoots" the others and they lay there on the ground while the rest plays. It's disturbing and insane. Red light, green light had to be banned from schools. It's not the dramas fault but it's still related so I wanted to bring it up.

I really liked Squid Game, but it didn't change anything for me. Most people I know still don't watch k-dramas. Those that watched Squid Game weren't interested in other k-dramas.

As for changes to dramaland as a whole, I think it's too early to say. Streaming is giving writers and directors freedom to tell more mature or controversial stories, which I like. I don't think the more traditional k-dramas are going anywhere, but we will see more variety than in the past. I know people like the single season format and blame Netflix for the trend to multiple seasons, but dramaland was trending toward multiple seasons before Netflix came on the scene. It is what it is. Sometimes good and sometimes bad.

SG changed very little for me. I got to ask assorted friends and relatives if they had watched it. And I got to hear them say they hadn't.

I think the one thing we can say for certain that Squid Game has achieved is being the first kdrama that entered worldwide pop culture. Most people know of Squid Game whether they watched it or not and can recognize its icons (the red light green light doll, the red suits, the triangle/circle/square symbols, the tracksuits, etc.).
Also, the actors were invited on popular American talkshows to promote the drama. I believe that was also a first.

As to the extent of its influence, only time will tell. Is Squid Game going to open the door to other kdramas reaching worldwide fame like BTS and Blackpink did for kpop?

SG didn’t change anything for me personally - I got asked if I’d watched it a few times, I haven’t but I sometimes feel like I should just so I know what happens (also I feel like it’s going to be one of those iconic things that gets parodied a lot).

I suspect it will be more Gangnam Style (super viral, but doesn’t really result in people embracing more Korean pop culture) than BTS, but I’m happy to be wrong - I think wider exposure to different cultures is a good thing for everyone.

Squid game to me is a part of a larger, slightly disappointing trend to make grittier, more adult themed/rated dramas. Coming from someone who loves cop shows and serial killers but doesn't want to watch every graphic detail, it's disappointing that the genre seems to be disappearing as most of the shows I would have loved are now going for a more graphic take and getting 18+ ratings.

I observed that some of us are worried that after the boom called Squid Game came around, future k-drama contents are going to lose it feel and touch.

But I don't really think Squid Game is going to do that, the changes are already happening right under our noses. It's just that the changes suit us so we are not complaining. For the past 5 years, we've seen writers and directors killing Old tropes and making their work more realistic than before. What made that happen? The ever evolving mind of humans and the 21st century we are in.

I don't really know how much influence Netflix and other streaming sites are going to hold on our beloved K-Universe. But one thing I'm sure, K-drama won't lose its feel and touch but change some things a bit to suit the taste of it's watchers.

Squid Game was a good drama and I’m glad it got such widespread recognition, but it didn’t change anything for me as a kdrama fan. Sure, I had many non-drama watchers ask me if I saw the show but that’s about it. It’s not like any of those people branched out to watching kdramas in general (though I’m sure that other people might have done so).

As for if it changed dramaland, I think it’s still too soon to say. The proliferation of streaming services mean that grittier, darker dramas dealing with controversial themes and subject matter can be made with relative ease. However, I don’t think this is an influence of Squid Game, but rather - the creative freedom offered by said platforms. I don’t think it has negatively affected “traditional” kdramas and I certainly don’t think that that type of kdramas are “dying”, as many seem to think. I can think of many such “traditional” kdramas from 2021 alone that were beloved by drama-watching audiences. The presence of a new kind of content does not require the death of the previous kind. Trends that many attribute to Squid Game are just signs of change that happened over a long period of time. We’ve seen nothing in dramaland yet directly as a result of Squid Game’s success - except maybe Wi Ha-joon finally getting to be a male lead (fingers crossed for Little Women).

Squid Game changed me because this was not one of the Netflix's greatest hit shows but one of the Netflix shows with the most successful critical and commercial reception. Rotten Tomatoes got 94% and Metacritic got 69%. Then, this Kdrama led to some pop culture growth. While bento boxes was still to be the regular Korean food until this day, dalgona candies seems to be hoping for joining bento as as one of the regular Korean foods. Tracksuit revival slowly climbed its growth thanks to this Kdrama.

Another thing that Squid Game changed me was the music. While this Kdrama mostly contained a lot of classical music out there, there was a notable pop song that I still worth to listened over and over again. Fly Me to the Moon was truly covered by Joo Won and I loved this cover. It was originally titled In Other Words in 1954 by Kaye Ballard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_Me_to_the_Moon) and it became the jazz-pop standards of the 1950s. This song was written by Bart Howard. I really happy that Squid Game music department totally picked and chose this good appropriate cover of Fly Me to the Moon.

I'm glad I watched Squid Game, but it wasn't like omgwowamazing.
I liked the acting more than I liked the plot, especially with how it ended. Meh. (Still plan on catching the 2nd season. -shrugs-)

It was the first kdrama I watched with my sister so that was nice. It didn't convert her to a fan though. x] I think it brought more interest to kdramas in general from new viewers. So I say the more, the merrier. ^^

Squid Game let the world know how bad foreign actors are in K-dramas because everyone collectively hated the VIPs.

There are two extremes of K-dramas -- Netflix dramas with uncensored language, smoking, sex, and nudity, and network dramas with chaste lip-press kisses.

I didn't pay attention to Squid Games until a bunch of friends started texting me about it. I was like "what are they doing watching a kdrama?" (not like a bad thing, but more like surprised as hell since people around me are always making fun of me because of kdramas/kpop). So when Squid Game became n1 on Netflix (in my country), I posted something like "maybe now people will learn that they're called koreans" -for ten years I've been hearing people called them anything but that-. I was happy about the show getting so much attention in my country.

Then I watched the show and well, even if they used korean games the show felt more like a sequel of Saw than a kdrama. Not precisely a bad thing since I enjoy those kind of movies (if the finale was different I would've liked the show tbh), BUT I knew my friends weren't going to watch other kdramas after that one because kdramas aren't like that. So I was kinda sad about it.

Besides those two moments, I don't think Squid Games changed anything for me. Maybe it's because I've watched way too many american movies with that concept, but most of the time I even forget that show exists. So it was more like a temporal change?

Ps. Am I the only one that thinks Parasite has drama vibes? With Parasite I actually thought people around me could start watching kdramas.
I could recommend kdramas to someone that likes Parasite, since I would've am idea about a kdrama that person may like. I can't say the same thing about Squid Game, tho.

I'm actually surprised that Squid Game didn't leave as big an impact on the spread of kdramas as much as people liked it. In fact, they also recognized things like good acting and the overwhelming emotions that kdramas induce. Atleast people in my circle would get curious but never really try anything else. Maybe its because there aren't many shows of the same type like SG. I think SG will keep growing but will that love spread to the rest of the kdramas? I doubt.

Perhaps the primary way Squid Game will change K-dramas is that it will attract more money to K-drama production. There will be ripple effects from that, as we've already seen with the influx of Netflix' bags of money in recent years.

Generally I think it's a positive thing, as long as Koreans remain in charge of all aspects of production. If the producers bow to U.S. influence and culture in developing a story, K-dramas may well decline into the miserable cesspool we know as American shows.

Korea has been wise to allow just a bit of evolution of a tried-and-true formula; for example, having a transgender character in Itaewon Class, or the occasional minor gay storyline. If they expand on those too much, perhaps many of those who flocked to exclusively watching K-dramas will abandon those just as they did American shows.

Regardless of what happens, I'm optimistic that the Korean writers' astounding creativity, within the structure of Korean culture, will continue to gel as the drama-production powerhouse we have come to know and love.

About SQUID GAME
The problem of such tv series like Squid Game, is that they desensitize the viewers to human cruelty towards other humans, male it fun in so far as they entertain us with watching people die under the hands of other people - for money for some and fight against boredom for others - none being « right » and morally justifiable.
do you realize that this is paving the road for real-life battle-royale or hunger games in a future that seems less and less distant… and for those who would say never, be reminded that history loved to repeat itself and that it already took place - be reminded of the circus games under Caesar etc. Distant and not so distant history abounds with that.
Killing other people - whatever the pretext - always amoral and unjustifiable - should never become a glamour and a fun & entertaining thing to watch.
I even wonder/suspect where the writers got the idea from….

Can I just comment that I worry about SG changing Kdramas, because I don't think it was a very good drama? Yes the first few episodes were shocking and different, but where was the typical "heart" of the drama that is so central to most kdramas? I didn't care who won the games--I didn't feel connected to any of the characters except for the policeman, but I knew he was probably not going to make it off the island, so I wasn't especially sad when he was killed. I love kdramas because they make me care about the characters portrayed, even a lot of times, the bad guys. But not Squid Games. It was all shock and blood, without depth.

The one thing Squid Games has done is cemented Netflix's legitimacy in South Korea as THE production company to go for now, and disrupted the Korean entertainment industry as we know it. Everyone wants their foot in the Netflix door. I'm seeing some actors (like Yoo Ah In) start to work exclusively in Netflix productions.

I don't get all the hand-wringing over Netflix and Squid Game "polluting" kdramas. 1) Tastes change over time - evolution is the natural order of things, and 2) many viewers (and actors and writers) aren't so inclined to the standard Korean kdramas. It's good to have more variety for everyone.

What I am most interested in seeing is how the industry changes in response to Netflix's ascent in Korean entertainment. How are actors, directors, writers, investors, thinking and strategizing about their careers now?

I love old-school Kdrama romcoms, tropes and all! I'm all for variety, but I hate the implication that there was something wrong with the previous generation of Kdramas that needed to be fixed. I loved that the OG Kdramas catered specifically to women and the female gaze; serialized rom-coms basically don't exist in Western TV. It's fine to like romance! We shouldn't devalue it just because it's something enjoyed by women more than men.

I've heard people saying that the new gritty dramas are more realistic, but of course Squid Game or Kingdom are just as fantastical as rom-coms. Serial killer and revenge dramas are also unrealistic. There just aren't that many serial killers in the world, and revenge rarely works out the way it is portrayed on TV.

To those saying that we still have the old tropey dramas, that's true, but there are definitely fewer good ones than there used to be, unfortunately.

I hate to be that person who brings down what people thought of something, but the hype on Squid Game REALLY is the easiest and clearest example of what the word overrated means.
In one hand, I'm happy that the netflix bloom of kdrama actually brought out so many themes that probably won't even close to air on tv (Extracurricular, squid game itself) but as we all know how dramaland works sometimes they see a success in a drama then overused that theme (Sky Castle, Penthouse then followed by countless pointless dramas with the theme; World of marriage then
followed by so many dramas centered around affairs). As for squid game, I do hope that it widens the perspective that writers can get more creative with what they did but not exactly following their theme because honestly... i think one squid game is enough.

On the other hand.......... I hate to say it...... but honestly....... I don't see how squid game is entertaining in any way kdramas has ever entertained me (I'm not talking about bright dramas I mean Forest of Secret entertains me, Signal entertains me). I literally found no fun in squid game in ANY aspects. And honestly it's unfortunately if people watch squid game and think and it's what kdrama is supposed to serve. No.... Kdramas are much more than that and they're not only 'good' when they're trying to be edgy. There are a lot of sh*tty ones, but there are also a lot of great ones, be it romance, comedy, slice of life, something unique that I honestly think (as somebody who also watches a lot of western series and movies) western production could never replicate.

And last but not least....... I do hope the hollywood awards spotlight on squid game doesn't make people expect so much from squid game just to be faced by what squid game is then ended up thinking it was indeed overrated and would never come close to any kdrama ever again..... Because as much as i love the grandpa..... him winning golden globes (well yeah, golden globe is a mess) over (well i haven't watched the other nominees) Kieran Culkin in Succession..... is somewhat.......... frustrating personally for me.........

Some great comments here! I'll say K-dramas have always been popular esp. in Asia where its mainstream. However, I'll say its more what Netflix has done to push/introduce audiences more to them that has changed the most. Their marketing team, money they've, resources, globalization, & social media have helped K-dramas/K-content reach a larger audience then they would've never reached back then. There's a reason why Netflix put over 500 million $$ into K-content last year alone, & b/c it helps them with their subscribers grow. I think Squid Game has helped K-dramas/K-content get more recognizability in terms of awards season amongst Hollywood. The main cast of Squid Game all signed to big Hollywood agencies.

For me, its not saying one is better than the other, I think that we're going to see a lot more OTT services do K-content (Like Apple+), and more co-productions between different countries create content. I know CJ E&M (Who have done CLOY/Hotel Del Luna) have invested/stocks in these Hollywood companies so I forsee a lot of remakes unfortunately :/. I would love to see some of my favorite foreign actors work with Korean talents. Side note: Park Chan Wook (famous Korean director) is working with HBO, so I also see the director of Squid Game also work on more international projects. Basically, has it changed K-dramas completely hmm yes/no?! Yes, in that they're finally getting acknowledgement from a global audience in big awards which is great. No, in that Squid Game had the right timing, luck, & situation where it slowly built up to become this global phenomenon.

Even after, I saw many say Hellbound/The Silent Sea was going to do that but it hasn't. I think more creators will create shows with international audiences in mind now. And more and more will have to be careful not to offend foreign audiences. There's still issues, ahem Penthouse, and even in Squid Game there was a rather alarming scene that painted the gay guy in a bad light. So Korea still has ways to go when it comes to content (racism, homophobia, & such). Even Kim Eui Sung is working in an Apple+ show with Anne Hathaway/Jared Leto, so I see Korea becoming the new China in the sense of Korea being the Asian country in media that's creating hot content.

Overall, these were very thoughtful comments. I really enjoyed reading them--they made me really consider this issue. In fact I add on only because I know that this particular discussion has passed its expiration date and no one will pay my remarks much heed. (I do think there is something to the argument that the Internet speeds up and intensifies reaction time, but also shortens the public attention span.) So I'm really writing for myself, here.
The issues that I think are historically constant, and can be traced back to the 1800s emergence of popular culture are 1. fear that globalization will undermine local distinctiveness. 2. That capitalism will "corrupt" a unique art form 3. That depictions of violence and or sexuality will undermine public morality, especially that of young people 4. That technology (in this case streaming, Internet based) will overwhelm other more creative, human impulses.
I know all these are pretty heavy considerations to lay upon a single television show, that, in my opinion, wasn't that ground-breaking, but I think that this discussion is occurring in relation to this show is a tribute to the complexity of Korean popular culture and Kdramas in particular. (and there are similar discussions that go on continuously for U.S. pop culture, which I know best.) That's why I'm not that worried, in the end, about what will happen in this realm of human activity--sure it will change, but it will also persist, and I think it will persist in a nationally, or at least a regionally unique form, as long as the main practitioners are from a certain place.
That said, there are other areas of human activity across the globe that I AM deeply worried about right now, and thinking through k-dramas--even through rom-coms, my favorite genre--might be a helpful way of dealing with those concerns, whether they appear on Netflix or not!