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Nodutdol | 노둣돌 Profile picture
@nodutdol
Oct 14, 2021 • 14 tweets • 11 min read • Read on X
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#SquidGame is sweeping the globe. But how does this show reflect the real south Korea? Here's a look at the real events and dynamics echoed by the shows events and characters: from the debt crisis rocking south Korea to the real "VIPs" who run the country.

⚠️Spoilers ahead! IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A SQUID GAME GUARD HOLDING A GUN WALKS AM
Squid Game's premise echoes real events in south Korea's history. Countless wartime massacres were committed by the US and ROK and hidden from public knowledge throughout the 20th century.

In the 1980s, over 60,000 people were imprisoned in concentration camps under Chun Doo-Hwan's "Social Purification" campaign. Victims were often houseless, orphaned, and disabled people. The squid game contestants in their bunks, standing in rowsPhotograph of the 1980s concentration camps, crowds of peopl
TW: police violence

Gi-hoon's backstory alludes to the 2009 Ssangyong Motor Strike, when 900 workers occupied their factory for 77 days to protest job cuts.

Gi-hoon now survives by taking odd jobs, or as an "irregular worker." Over 40% of ROK workers are irregular workers. Picture of Gi-hoonPicture of south Korean riot police beating a Ssangyong work
Migrant workers from non-western nations form a super-exploited strata in south Korea. Whether they have temporary visas or no papers, these migrants live at the mercy of their employers.

Since 2015, at least 522 workers from Thailand alone have died on the job in south Korea photo of Aliactual photo of migrant workers' demonstration in south kore
TW: sexual violence

Migrants or "defectors" from north Korea also face discrimination and exploitation in the south.

70% of the 33,000 DPRK migrants are women, and 1 in 4 report experiencing sexual violence. Many cases involve ROK intelligence agents assigned as their handlers. Photo of Sae-byeokphoto of an album full of defector headshot photos, the defe
TW: suicide mention

Despite south Korea's appearance of prosperity, most households are in serious debt. Household debt is 105% of GDP, the highest of any Asian country.

Household debt averaged 190% of household earnings in 2019, almost double the US average. Photo of Sangwoo cryingMastercard advertisement in KoreaDespite south Korea's appearance of prosperity, most househo
TW: suicide mention

South Korea's senior citizens are especially impacted by privatization of healthcare and real estate under capitalism. Many elderly people are unable to afford medical care or housing. About 50% of all senior citizens live in poverty. photo of il-namphoto of korean seniors waiting in line for assistance
Organized crime has often been used by landlords, companies, and the govt for everything from evicting tenants to breaking strikes.

In 2009, President Lee Myung-bak mobilized "private security forces" to brutally evict street vendors from the Insa-dong district in Seoul. photo of deok-su and his gangA real confrontation between union workers and hired muscle.Organized crime preys on the working class in south Korea. D
The show's desperate guards may allude to south Korea's system of mandatory military service for all persons assigned male at birth.

Just as Squid Game's guards ultimately serve the VIPs, South Korea's 600,000 active-duty troops serve under the operational command of the US. photo of squid game guards with gunsactual ROK soldiers chanting in rowsThe show hints that the guards may not be so different from
Just as the mostly white VIPs run the game thru the Front Man and the guards, monopoly capital uses native "front men" to run south Korea.

By 2004, 44% of the Korean stock market was foreign-owned. Under the 2007 FTA, US corporations can contest south Korean laws they dislike. The VIPs with the front manActual IMF rep smiling at a desk in 1997 as a Korean govt re
Not everything in this thread is explicitly referenced in this show. Nevertheless, an analysis of the role of imperialism and neocolonialism in south Korea's economy is essential to understanding the crises it faces today.
Sources: asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia…

hani.co.kr/arti/english_e…

koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20…

reuters.com/article/us-tha…

npr.org/2019/09/17/761…

reuters.com/article/us-sou…

channelnewsasia.com/commentary/net…

theguardian.com/world/2021/oct…

statista.com/statistics/111…

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Sources (continued):

deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/hand…

fpif.org/south-korean-l…

libcom.org/news/death-tol…

arkansasonline.com/news/2011/jul/…
nytimes.com/2004/07/20/opi…

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More from @nodutdol

Nodutdol | 노둣돌 Profile picture
Jan 5
Has north Korea abandoned reunification?

On New Year’s Eve, global media reported that Kim Jong Un no longer supports Korean reunification. But this is not true.

A thread 🧵 Collage of president Yoon of south Korea and Kim Jong Un of north Korea
Kim Jong Un recently announced major changes in north Korea’s stance towards reunification. This marks a huge breakdown in inter-Korean relations after years of US, south Korean, and Japanese aggression.

However, north Korea has NOT abandoned reunification.
In a speech made on Dec 31 at the 9th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea, Kim Jong Un rejected south Korea’s formula for “reunification by absorption”— the idea south Korea should absorb the north, overthrow its govt, and abolish its socialist system.
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Nodutdol | 노둣돌 Profile picture
Oct 20, 2023
As anti-imperialist Koreans, we stand unequivocally with Palestine, its people and its armed resistance against the Zionist occupation. This is neither a two-sided conflict nor a war: it is an occupation and a genocide.

🧵 Image
As Koreans whose homeland is divided, we know imperialism is our common enemy. Following our liberation from Japanese colonialism and the beginning of independent socialist construction in Korea, the US split our country in two and indiscriminately bombed and killed our people.
There is a reason the Nakba and the division of Korea coincided in 1948, backed by the same imperialist interests. Both Korea and Palestine are geographically strategic sites for the US empire’s grip across the world.
Read 14 tweets
Nodutdol | 노둣돌 Profile picture
Jun 25, 2023
Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the “start” of the Korean War. We've curated a list of educational resources that the US & south Korean governments desperately tried to erase from our history. In the face of blatant US propaganda, it is up to us to learn the real history 🧵
The Hidden History of the Korean War by I.F. Stone

In this new book, I.F. Stone challenges the dominant historical narrative about the Korean War and exposes the US' deliberate attempts to prolong the war.
Blowback, Season 3

Brendan James and Noah Kulwin expose US involvement in the Korean War using primary sources, vivid storytelling, and sharp historical analysis. The season also features interviews with Suzy Kim, Tim Shorrock, and Bruce Cummings.
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Nodutdol | 노둣돌 Profile picture
May 18, 2023
#OTD in 1980, the people of #Gwangju rose up against Chun Doo-hwan's military dictatorship, calling for democracy in south Korea.

In response, with a green light from the US, south Korean police & soldiers massacred 2,300 people. We will never forget the martyrs of Gwangju. 🧵 Black and white photo from the student protests. Many people are gathered holding banners and flags, and a person in the middle is waving the south Korean flag.
In Oct 1979, former President Park Chung-hee was assassinated by his own head of security. Chun Doo-hwan then seized power via military coup.

On May 17, 1980, he declared martial law, using rumors of communism to close schools, ban political activity, and censor the press. Black and white photo of Chun Doo-hwan with US President Ronald Reagan, holding glasses and toasting.
On May 18, 1980, thousands of students in Gwangju gathered to protest martial law and the closing of their universities.

Police & soldiers responded with brutal violence, beating students with clubs and rounding them up for execution. Students and bystanders alike were killed. Black and white photo of soldiers beating civilians with clubs.
Read 11 tweets
Nodutdol | 노둣돌 Profile picture
May 13, 2023
The US and south Korea started building a shooting range in Changwon — without informing the local government or residents.

Changwon is a city full of apartments, shopping centers, and industrial parks — all within a 1.5 km radius of the shooting range.

en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN202305…
The south Korean defense ministry defended its actions using the Status of Forces Agreement, which exempts US troops from following domestic laws in south Korea.

The Status of Forces Agreement is an imperialist tool that allows the US to control and suppress the Korean people.
With a US shooting range in their backyard, the residents of Changwon will face irreversible environmental, physical, and psychological damage.

From 1952-2004, the US installed a bombing range near Maehyang-ri village. At least 12 villagers were killed by stray bombs or bullets.
Read 4 tweets
Nodutdol | 노둣돌 Profile picture
May 11, 2023
💐Today is Single Mother's Day in south Korea.

🧵Single moms created Single Mother's Day to challenge "Adoption Day" — a holiday celebrated by the south Korean government on May 11. Single mothers and advocate...
In 2019, 100% of overseas adoptees from Korea were the children of unwed mothers.

The south Korean adoption agency originated by preying on poor women, unwed mothers, and sex workers. Many were coerced into giving up their children.

Single mothers face discrimination and abuse in south Korean society. On top of social stigma, the government also makes it difficult for single mothers to receive financial support.

aljazeera.com/features/2018/…
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