Like so many people around the world, Youngmi Mayer recently binged Netflix’s survival drama “Squid Game.” The comedian and co-host of the podcast Feeling Asian, who is fluent in Korean, took to TikTok last week to vent some of her frustrations with what she believed were the English subtitles for “Squid Game” in a video that’s since racked up more than 10 million views.
Mayer, like many others, didn’t initially realize she was watching the Korean drama with English closed captions rather than subtitles, but she said even after watching the subtitled version, she still felt frustrated.
Her videos have spawned an online debate about translation, subtitles and dubbing, with viewers echoing Mayer’s concerns on social media, accusing “Squid Game” and other Netflix productions of cutting out swear words and suggestive language from subtitles and condensing dialogue in ways that can change the meaning of a scene. (Though, not all Korean-language speakers agreed with Mayer’s translations.)
Subtitled in 31 languages and dubbed in 13, Hwang Dong-hyuk’s allegory about modern capitalist society and class disparity hit Netflix’s No. 1 spot in 90 countries.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Netflix did not respond to a request for comment about the English translation process of “Squid Game.”
Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.
