CAPITALISM IN SOUTH KOREA

More films have been produced in the recent past showing the imposition of capitalism
onto South Korea and its effects on the citizens. Today, there is developmental progress among
the affluent South Korean population, but the middle class continues to move backwards and
slowly sink into debt. There is an indication that development in one of the world’s growing
economies, has also produced poverty. The capitalist of South Korea as a capitalist state is an
issue that has been explored in films. Film scholars have explored the cinematic representation
adopted by makers of South Korean films. There are depictions of anxiety, violence, trauma and
struggles that correlate with the country’s difficulties in overcoming authoritarian rule 1 . This
paper explores the depiction of capitalism in South Korean films and its manifestations in
people’s everyday life: individualism, alienation from friends and family due to poverty, stigma,
and social displacement as middle-class citizens sink in debt.
South Korean films do not view history as a sign of development or progress. They show
the deteriorating living conditions in the country and how “development” and “progress” have
allowed penetration of the country by powerful external entities that have since established
political and economic control over the country’s vulnerable populations and regions. In the film,
Parasite, two South Korean families- the poor Kim’s and the rich Park’s- reflect the widening
inequality in South Korea 2 . It is quite unexpected considering that South Korea is the fourth-
largest economy in Asia. The film was the first non-English movie to win the Oscar, and it made
history for this, leading to a social media eruption among South Koreans. This is mainly because
most South Koreans resonated with the film’s message. The people who are born to low-income
families and who have gone through difficulties in life to the extent of giving up on ever owning
1 Kim, Kyung Hyun. The remasculinization of Korean cinema. Duke University Press, 2004.
2 Joon-ho, Bong. 2019. Parasite. DVD. South Korea: Barunson E&A.

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a decent house. They do not see themselves ever going up the social ladder as the economic
situation is difficult in the country. The same cannot be said of the better-off families who
continue amassing more wealth.
The film depicts personal crises that correspond to the country’s historical moment when
it was hit by a financial disaster. A financial crisis was experienced in the country that led to high
unemployment rates, urban poverty and businesses collapsed, and banks were closed. South
Korea was bankrupt, and it entered into a monetary agreement with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) 3 . The country got a bailout agreement amounting to $55 billion dollars 4 . For the sum
to be released, some neoliberal structural reforms had to be made. The country had new
economic priorities. It had to restructure its economy into capitalism dominated by multinational
corporations as opposed to how it was before the crisis, where the state-owned the economy.
Since the financial crisis, the government has emphasized policies that allow the
expansion of free trade. Neoliberalism now dominates, and fee markets are safeguarded through
military intervention so as to promote “market civilization”, “development”, and “progress” 5 .
Neoliberalism in South Korea has been characterized by widespread commodification,
deregulation of the industry, elimination of regulations aimed at protecting labor such as wage
limits, benefits and safety nets, a rise in consumer debt, exacerbation of income inequality and a
total shift in the economy 6 . Production is outsourced from different places of the world so that

3 Dent, Christopher M. “12. The state and transnational capital in adaptive partnership: Singapore, South Korea and
Taiwan.” Handbook of Research on Asian Business (2007): 223.
4 Ibid., 223.
5 Gill, Stephen. “Globalisation, market civilisation, and disciplinary neoliberalism.” Millennium 24, no. 3 (1995):
399-423.
6 Seo, Dongjin. “The will to self-managing, the will to freedom: The self-managing ethic and the spirit of flexible
capitalism in South Korea.” In New Millennium South Korea, pp. 96-112. Routledge, 2010.

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the cheapest and most expendable labor is used.
The Parasite depicts the “parasitic” relationships that exist between the country poor and
rich populations. It uses visual cues to illustrate the stiff nature of competition within society. At
the beginning of the film, the Kim family can be seen. The father, Kim Ki-taej, takes a bag that
has only two slices of toast 7 . The scene shows the extent of poverty within the family. Low wage
is a problem that makes the financial situation at Kim’s family even worse. For example, they
receive a meagre reward for their labor. After the Kim get employed at the Park family, they all
eat there at the pizzeria. On the contrary, the wealthy Park family eat food only from a high-end
organic supermarket. Even the pet dogs that they own eat different kinds of foods that are bought
from high-end stores. It is ironic that even the dogs afford better food than the poor. Te Kim
family represent a poor family in South Korea and their daily struggles through life.
A shot in the movie shows Kim’s house in the semi-basement. In the shot, the stains on
the window, shabby iron fillings, and socks on the ground show a dilapidated state and a scene
characterized by decadence. It is messy and dirty. When the family is not able to fold many pizza
boxes, the pizza shop owner threatens to reduce their wages. Kim Ki-taek can be seen peeping
through the window, and he looks like a prisoner. Thus, he is a prisoner of circumstances and is
trapped in his poor state 8 . In contrast, the Park’s family live in a big house that is spacious. It
even as a private courtyard. When Ki-woo, an English tutor, enters the house for the first time,
he feels like he is in heaven. He shows that not even education in South Korea can earn one a
decent living. Although Ki-woo’s educational qualifications are fake, it still shows that even the
7 Joon-ho, Bong. 2019. Parasite. DVD. South Korea: Barunson E&A.
8 Liu, Chang. “Analysis of Social Class Inequality Based on the Movie Parasite.” In proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2020), pp. 78-82. Atlantis Press,
2020.

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educated struggle. The surprising thing is that Ki-woo’s father is impressed at the forgery skills.
This shows that he is tired of his status quo and would do anything to change things.
Economic inequality in South Korea is also depicted in other films such as Take Care of
My Cat 9 . The film depicts Seoul as one with shopping malls and a continuous illumination of
buildings that house offices and clubs. It depicts the environment that most South Koreans live in
and how life has changed. Girls in the movie, such as Ji-Young, live in cramped homes, and this
shows the widening division between the rich and the poor. The rich can be seen sending text
messages as they negotiate their isolation and form business relationships. The poor feel
marginalized and also join the consumerism culture. For example, Ji-Young buys a new pone,
yet her grandparent’s roof needs fixing.
Remarkably, capitalism is an economic system that is characterized by private ownership
of the means of production. It is also characterized by intense competition as each member of
society seeks to ensure that they get a piece of the cake. The competition results in high levels of
stratification. A capitalist society is divided into classes. People who have access to more
resources are at the top of the pyramid while the majority who do not have access to resources sit
at the bottom of the pyramid. The majority of the citizens in a capitalist economy are
underprivileged and are unable to participate in economic activities 10 . The television series Squid
Game portrays South Korea as a society that is defined by extreme levels of capitalism and social
inequality 11 . The television show has been regarded by many as an allegory of capitalism.

9 Jae-eun, Jeong. 2001. Take Care Of My Cat. DVD. South Korea: Cinema Service.
10 Koepke, Deanna Jacobsen. “Race, class, poverty, and capitalism.” Race, gender & class (2007): 189-205.
11 Dong-hyuk, Hwang. 2021. Squid Game. Video. South Korea: Netflix.

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In the film, the characters are fighting for their lives and the lives of their loved ones in a
deeply oppressive capitalist society. The participants are expected to fight for their lives and
participate in children’s games. All the 456 participants at the start of the television series are
cash strapped and are in huge debt 12 . Evidently, there is a huge class disparity in South Korea
and this disparity has driven the characters to huge debts. A huge gap exists between the highest
income earners and the low-income earners. The people at the bottom are willing to risk their
lives to ensure that they get out of debt. The majority in society are vulnerable and this makes it
easy for the players to be recruited for a deadly game after being promised that they would reap
huge reward.
In a capitalist society, profit is the main motivation. All players in the market seek to
ensure that they earn an income or some form of profit. Individuals are assumed to be rational
and they therefore act in their own best interests. Businesses seek to minimize costs and increase
the revenue while individuals seek to earn the highest wages possible. High levels of market
competition also exist in capitalist societies. Businesses that are actively involved in the market
have high levels of competition. Sellers compete with other sellers. In Squid Game there is
intense competition among the characters 13 . The main motivation is the money that has been
promised to whoever wins the game. People are willing to kill each other to achieve the goal of
winning the cash prize. With every player drowning in debt due to intense capitalism, everyone
is committed to the goal of making huge sums of money that would see them move out of
poverty and up the social ladder.
The director of Squid Game is on record stating that he wanted to create an allegory of
capitalism. He goes further and states that he was motivated by competition that characterizes
12 Dong-hyuk, Hwang. 2021. Squid Game. Video. South Korea: Netflix.
13 Dong-hyuk, Hwang. 2021. Squid Game. Video. South Korea: Netflix.

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capitalist societies 14 . The South Korean society can be analyzed in respect to the opposite of
capitalism which is communism 15 . Unlike in a capitalist society, in a communist society, all
property is owned by the community. Every person is entitled to receive a share of the property
based on their needs. There is no intense competition among individuals in a communist society.
Further, in socialism, while individuals can still own property, a democratically elected
government runs the means of generating wealth. Squid Game paints a picture of a country that
does not embrace any socialism or communism ideals. Property and resources are privately
owned and there is need for the citizens to compete to ensure that one accumulates as much
property as possible. This creates animosity in society and everyone is willing guard their self
interests at all costs.
In Squid Game one of the players was a billionaire. Oh Il-nam had a greed to continue
playing the game despite the fact that he was rich and did not need the money 16 . He is protected
by the guards secretly. In addition, among the players is a doctor who helps the guards extract
organs and sell them off. The doctor gets secret protection and is given hints on the games that
are coming. The two scenarios depict the situation in South Korea where the rich are protected
by the government and they enjoy certain protections. On the flipside, the poor suffer and are
unable to access various protections and services from the government. Capitalism has also
resulted in people engaging in unethical practices including the sale of human organs as a
method of accumulating capital.

14 Placido, Dani. 2021. “The Meaning Of Netflix’S ‘Squid Game’ Is Being Misinterpreted”. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2021/10/21/the-meaning-of-netflixs-squid-game-is-being-
misinterpreted/?sh=3e7aeb732033.
15 Ibid.
16 Dong-hyuk, Hwang. 2021. Squid Game. Video. South Korea: Netflix.

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Overall, these films are just a few examples of the cinematic representation of life in
South Korea. Modern filmmakers are now depicting the effects of capitalism on the people in
South Korea. The poor are languishing in poverty as the rich continue growing rich. Although
the country externally appears to be progressing well economically, the middle-class citizens
cannot reap such developments. The development mirrors the situation of just the rich
population. The poor are sinking in debt, as can be seen in Squid games; the poor are forced to
separate from their parents and friends and take part in a deadly game as they try to escape
poverty.

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Bibliography

Dent, Christopher M. “12. The state and transnational capital in adaptive partnership: Singapore,
South Korea and Taiwan.” Handbook of Research on Asian Business (2007): 223.
Dong-hyuk, Hwang. 2021. Squid Game. Video. South Korea: Netflix.
Gill, Stephen. “Globalization, market civilization, and disciplinary
neoliberalism.” Millennium 24, no. 3 (1995): 399-423.
Jae-eun, Jeong. 2001. Take Care Of My Cat. DVD. South Korea: Cinema Service.
Joon-ho, Bong. 2019. Parasite. DVD. South Korea: Barunson E&A.
Kim, Kyung Hyun. The remasculinization of Korean cinema. Duke University Press, 2004.
Koepke, Deanna Jacobsen. “Race, class, poverty, and capitalism.” Race, gender & class (2007):
189-205
Liu, Chang. “Analysis of Social Class Inequality Based on the Movie Parasite.” In proceedings
of the 2nd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development
(ICLAHD 2020), pp. 78-82. Atlantis Press, 2020.
Placido, Dani. 2021. “The Meaning of Netflix’S ‘Squid Game’ Is Being Misinterpreted”. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2021/10/21/the-meaning-of-netflixs-squid-
game-is-being-misinterpreted/?sh=3e7aeb732033.