These issues with the English subtitles totally changed our understanding of Squid Game

The Netflix show Squid Game is massively popular all over the world. Inevitably, some aspects of the original Korean dialogue will be lost when the show is given English subtitles, or dubbed. Here are four issues with the translation in the English subtitles that totally changed out understanding of Squid Game.

We missed an important point about classism in season one

Remember Han Mi-nyeo, aka player 212? When she’s trying to persuade people to team up with her, the English subtitles say, “I’m not a genius, but I still got it worked out.” But a TikTok user called Youngmi Mayer explained she actually says something closer to “I am very smart, I just never got a chance to study.” This means Mi-nyeo is actually much cleverer than we all thought. Plus, it makes a really interesting point about the social structure in South Korea.

The subtitles tricked us all into thinking Oh Il-nam was the father of In-ho and Jun-ho

Now, it is possible for two people to have the same allergy and to not be related
(Credit: Netflix)

Really. Ahead of season three’s release, the internet was obsessed with “the milk theory“. So, in season two, In-ho aka player 001 aka the Front Man offers Jun-hee his milk because he can’t drink it. TikTok got very excited about this, because back in season one, Gi-hun says he doesn’t drink milk. Il-nam says, “You’re just like my son”. The order of the English subtitles make it seem like Il-nam is comparing Gi-hun’s lactose intolerance to his own son’s. This led some Netflix viewers to theorise that In-Ho was secretly Il-nam’s lactose intolerant son. You still with me?

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However, in the original Korean, the order of the dialogue is a bit different. Il-nam’s doesn’t put so much emphasis on the milk. Instead, the focus is on how Gi-hun probably got spanked a lot as a child, like his own son. This renders the milk theory null and void.

Please note, about 75 per cent of people in Korea are lactose intolerant. I don’t think Il-nam had quite that many kids.

‘I’ve played these games before’

@probnatz

english dub is a CRIME 😭🙏 #squidgame #001 #netflix #squidgamenetflix #season2 #fyp

♬ I PLAYED THESE GAMES BEFORE – natz

The biggest meme from Squid Game is a clip of Gi-hun yelling “I’ve played these games before” right before the red light, green light game in season two. The line was mocked in every corner of the internet. But the line is way, way cringier in the dubbed English version. Then, Gi-Hun screams, “I’ve played these games before! I said, ‘I’ve played these games before!'” In the version with Korean audio and English subtitles, this is way less jarring.

The subtitles totally changed Dae-ho’s backstory

Okay, so remember Dae-ho? The dude who doesn’t fetch amno during the rebellion, who Gi-hun eventually kills?  In the dubbed English version of season three and in the version with English subtitles, he tells Gi-hun, “I didn’t even serve in the military. I’ve never even held a gun.” This huge confession makes it seem like Deo-ho was totally lying about his background as a marine. It also doesn’t make a lot of sense, since in South Korea male citizens without disabilities have to do some form of military service.

He only lied a little bit
(Credit: Netflix)

But in Korean, he says something more like, “I was a social service personnel. I’ve never even properly shot a gun.” This refers to a different kind of military service in Korea. Dae-ho would have received about a month of basic military training, then do some kind of community service. This makes way more sense. It also means Dae-ho didn’t lie about his backstory so much, and so was a less deceitful person than the English translation led us to believe.

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Featured images via Netflix.