Netflix's Squid Game has taken the internet by storm, from people learning everything there is to know about dalgona candy, to commenting on the differences between the English-dubbed version and the original Korean script.
On that subject, there is a pretty strong reaction to the authenticity of the translated version and it seems to miss the mark on some of the drama's key moments and messages. Fans have taken to Twitter and TikTok to either shed light on the topic or gently poke some fun at the dub, with pretty entertaining results.
"Idk What Y'all Are So Mad About"
A major theme across all platforms seems to be that the English dub for Squid Game takes a lot of liberties and approximate translations, instead of looking at the Korean language in more depth--very reminiscent of older films about Asian culture. In essence, the English feels like broad strokes of the dialogue and doesn't seem to match the energy of the characters' body language at times.
This tweet by user @ovandal is a perfect, albeit pretty comedic, representation of that disconnect between the English and the original smaller details of Korean culture and the often oversimplified tropes of traditional K-Dramas and other Asian media. The body language in this scene is also completely different than the words being dubbed, and it seems like something got lost in translation.
@youngmiamayer Broke It All Down
On TikTok, @youngmiamayer, who is fluent in Korean, went into depth and broke down some of the key mistakes that the English dub made, and ways that they would change the translations to match the original script. Lines like "I'm not a genius, but I can work it out," should have been translated to "I am very smart, I just never got a chance to study (go to school)."
This completely changes the meaning and says a lot about the character, Han Mi-nyeo. Improper dubbing can cause viewers to miss things in Squid Game if they don't speak Korean. Other users, like @fac_smile, have commented that translation for films is often underpaid and overworked, especially by larger companies like Netflix, and this may be why they are lacking.
Edward Hong Defends The Dub Cast
Grey DeLisle-Griffin tweeted out a bash on the Squid Game dub, claiming that it was a turn-off if someone watched the dubbed version instead of the original. Edward Hong, one of the actors of Squid Game, was quick to defend the dub voice actors, saying that there's nothing wrong with watching the dubbed version and the more important thing to the casting department was hiring Asian and Pacific Islanders.
In an industry where the fight for more diversity is neverending, it's no surprise that a Korean series would want to hire minority API actors for a global project. DeLisle-Griffin has since partially apologized for the tweet, saying it was misunderstood, but other users have gone to the replies to comment on the hierarchy between Western voice acting and non-Western.
Finding Hacks To Watch A Better Version
TikTok user @madisauce has possibly discovered a way to get closer to the original script without having to pick up Korean. While watching the show, @madisauce goes to the Netflix settings and changes from "English CC (Closed Captioning)" to "English" under the options.
With the line that @youngmiamayer used as an example, @madisauce shows that under the "English CC" setting, the line reads "I'm not a genius, but I still got it work (worked) out, huh?" But, with the "English" setting selected, it reads "I never bothered to study, but I'm unbelievably smart." This is much closer to the original Korean and is a quote that sums up Mi-Nyeo's personality better. This trick might be a way for fans to watch the show and experience it more like the original Korean version, avoiding the problem of approximate translation.
Cody Ko And Noel Miller Weigh In On Their Podcast
Popular Youtubers Cody Ko and Noel Miller host a podcast called TMG, which stands for Tiny Meat Gang. On the show, Ko reveals that he didn't realize any version besides the English dub existed and it wasn't until later that he realized it was a setting that was pre-selected for him by Netflix.
Miller, on the other, could tell right away and was quick to change it. The two do some pretty hilarious impressions of the general odd American accent tone of the dub and give some examples of the way the dubbed lines seem out of place with the plot and use watered-down language. A memorable and funny one from Ko being, "Oh snap, I fudgin love this game!"
The Dub Highlights That English Just Isn't Cool-Sounding
Americans and the rest of Western society like to think that they are the coolest in the world and that English is a beautiful language, but the reality is that it's one of the harsher languages to listen to and almost impossible to capture some of the gorgeous turns of phrase in other languages around the globe.
This tweet by Twitter user @NeoWokio says that the Squid Game dub is a good example of this. The Korean version flows and has a complicated and nuanced sound to it, whereas the English version just falls short, brashly barreling through lines and sounding choppy and incomplete. Sometimes English needs to calm down and let the Romantic and Eastern languages take the lead.
Asian Culture And Word Choice Getting Changed For English Audiences
More than just the context of sentences being missing, like @youngmiamayer pointed out, TikTok user @hyuckstan02 makes an insightful and intelligent point about Asian culture and word choice being affected by the English dub pandering to Western culture and things that English speakers are used to, changing some of the best quotes of Squid Game.
@hyuckstan02 details that words like "oppa" in Korean may translate literally to "big brother" but that's not how it's used in Korean culture. "Oppa" is something a young woman calls an older man, and its use in a scene between two characters is impactful because it speaks to their perceived dynamic. The same goes for names. Using certain parts of peoples' names and titles like "sir" means something in Korean society; it is a symbol of the closeness between the two talking. So a simple translation error of using one name or another can completely change the relationship between two people on screen.
The Voices Didn't Match The Actors
Something that is equally as important as using accurate and detailed translations for a dubbed version of a show is picking a voice actor whose voice matches the look and original speaking voice of the onscreen actor. As @candidtaehyung pointed out on Twitter, Squid Game didn't quite achieve that effect.
This isn't to say there's anything wrong with that particular voice actor, but when a voice just doesn't match up to the person it's coming from, it can really take audiences out of the story, and it overshadows the rich plot of the series because viewers are distracted by the dissonance.
There Was A Yu-Gi-Oh Likeness
For fans of both Squid Game and the hit anime series Yu-Gi-Oh, there may be a fun observation about one of the English dub voice actors. According to @demonatemu on Twitter, the voice actor that does the dub for the Front Man's employee with the square on his mask, one of the most powerful staff members in Squid Game, sounds a lot like Pegasus from the Yu-Gi-Oh.
Cross-over friendships, couples, and fan art are always a fun part of media and highlight fans' creative spirit. @demonatemu even went as far as to draw Pegasus as the Salesman within the Squid Game world and imagined what that would translate to in Yu-Gi-Oh terms, in this case, the games that the players have to complete are duels instead.
Jennifer Coolidge Making A Surprise Appearance?
The voice of Yu-Gi-Oh's Pegasus wasn't the only one viewers couldn't unhear when they watched the Squid Game English dub; a large number of Twitter and TikTok users are convinced that Jennifer Coolidge secretly voiced the character of player 212 (Mi-nyeo).
Although the dub voice actor for Mi-nyeo is Stephanie Komure, not Coolidge, they do have a point about the two actors' voice similarities. Viewers would almost expect her to tell another one of the players that they looked like the fourth of July.