TikTok User Claims Netflix Botched 'Squid Game' Subtitles, Completely Changing Meaning of Show
Netflix‘s Squid Game has taken over the world since the release of the show on the streaming giant. In just a few days, the show instantly became a viral sensation and became one of the biggest shows ever.
First arriving to Netflix in September, the Korean-language show follows a group of people who were recruited by a mysterious organization to compete in life or death games. TikTok user Youngmi Mayer recently took to the social media platform to claim that the English subtitles have completely altered the meaning of the original script. Mayer, who is fluent in Korean said, “The dialogue was written so well and zero of it was preserved.”
She gives a series of examples, including one where a character in the series tries to convince others to play the game with her. The caption read, “I’m not a genius, but I still got it worked out.” Mayer explains that the more correct translation of the phrase would be, “I am very smart, I just never got a chance to study.” She continues to say that, “Almost everything she says is being botched translation-wise… the writers, all they want you to know about her is that. Seems so small, but it’s the entire character’s purpose of being in the f***ing show.”
Mayer later takes to Twitter to explain that translation work is often neglected in the TV/film world and that translators are grossly underpaid in comparison to other roles. Check out her TikTok explanation and Tweets below.
