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Presenter: Dr. Seung-hwan Shin Teaching associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh

Description: Reflecting on the global success of Squid Game (Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2021) and its reinvention of the death game genre, this talk explores both the opportunities and challenges presented by new media systems, particularly global video streaming platforms, for local creators. Netflix, renowned for decentralized approaches and departure from corporate-driven and center-to-local strategies in traditional media, allows for greater financial and creative freedom for local creators. However, concerns have arisen over Netflix’s dominance in local media landscapes and the overreliance of local creators on the platform giant, which would eventually lead to the demise of local media. In exploring the rise of Netflix as the leading global platform, with a particular focus on its success in Korea, this talk thus aims first to articulate the double-edged nature of platform economy. In the latter part of the talk, attention shifts towards Squid Game itself, focusing on how it creatively adapted to the platform culture and how it questions contemporary capitalism through an innovative investment in the trope of survival game, where participants voluntarily enter the death game, rendering values such as free will empty promises. Highlighting the show’s own dilemma between its anti-capitalist ethos and its success on Netflix, this talk also addresses the broader irony of resistance within the logic of platform economy that local production faces as the platform ecosystem continues to expand. Teacher education students learn the elements of globalization, internationalization, and critical cultural competencies necessary for curriculum design and student engagement to promote the development of citizens capable of engaging globally.

Learning goals: 1) Foster curiosity and interest in the world’s cultures, communities, and contexts; 2.) Create connections to global and local complex challenges that impact the shared human experience; 3.) Design and engage/implement cross-cultural experiences connected to content-area programs and the development of global competencies.