{"id":677,"date":"2025-05-08T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/?p=677"},"modified":"2025-10-12T01:58:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T01:58:31","slug":"what-squid-games-subtitles-can-teach-korean-learners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/korean\/what-squid-games-subtitles-can-teach-korean-learners\/","title":{"rendered":"What Squid Game’s Subtitles Can Teach Korean Learners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Squid Game<\/em> took off, it drew international attention not only to Korean stories, but also to the Korean language. For learners of \ud55c\uad6d\uc5b4 (Korean) who speak English, watching Korean television with subtitles can be an effective learning aid. But what happens if the subtitles fail to capture the original meaning? Let’s explore how the English subtitles of Squid Game<\/em> caused misunderstandings\u2014and what language learners can learn from this.<\/p>\n\n

What’s Wrong with the Subtitles?<\/h2>\n\n

Several Korean speakers and learners pointed out that the English subtitles\u2014particularly the closed captions in the dubbed version\u2014weren’t always accurate. Some lines were simplified, but others completely changed the tone or meaning.<\/p>\n\n

In Episode 1, for example, the character Han Mi-nyeo (\ud55c\ubbf8\ub140) says:<\/p>\n\n

\n

“\ub09c \uc544\uc8fc \ub611\ub611\ud588\uc5b4. \uadf8\ub0e5 \uacf5\ubd80\ub97c \ubabb\ud588\uc744 \ubfd0\uc774\uc57c.”
\n “I was very smart. I just never got a chance to study.”<\/p>\n <\/blockquote>\n\n

But the subtitles translated it as something like:<\/p>\n\n

\n

“I’m not a genius, but I still figured it out.”<\/p>\n <\/blockquote>\n\n

This translation loses subtlety. There’s social commentary in the original line\u2014she’s saying she was smart but didn’t have opportunities, which reflects real societal issues in Korea. The subtitle simplifies this into a generic statement.<\/p>\n\n

Why Does This Happen?<\/h2>\n\n

Translation is challenging\u2014especially from Korean to English. Korean carries cultural and contextual nuances that don’t always neatly translate.<\/p>\n\n

Consider the word \ud615 (hyeong<\/em>). Literally, it means “older brother,” but it’s also commonly used among close male friends. In Squid Game<\/em>, characters frequently use terms like \ud615, \uc5b8\ub2c8 (eonni<\/em>), or \uc120\ubc30 (seonbae<\/em>), conveying respect, hierarchy, or intimacy. Subtitles often omit these terms entirely, despite their significance in expressing relationships.<\/p>\n\n

What Can Korean Learners Do?<\/h2>\n\n

If you’re learning Korean, this is actually an excellent opportunity to sharpen your skills:<\/p>\n\n

    \n
  • Use Korean subtitles<\/strong> \u2013 Watch with \ud55c\uad6d\uc5b4 \uc790\ub9c9 to better connect the spoken words to their written form.<\/li>\n
  • Compare with English<\/strong> \u2013 Watch scenes twice: first with English subtitles, then Korean. Notice the differences.<\/li>\n
  • Look up key phrases<\/strong> \u2013 When you hear a line such as “\uadf8\ub0e5 \uacf5\ubd80\ub97c \ubabb\ud588\uc744 \ubfd0\uc774\uc57c,” pause to analyze it. Break it down.<\/li>\n
  • Watch without subtitles<\/strong> \u2013 Once you’re more confident, try short scenes without subtitles at all. Challenge your listening skills.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n\n

    Final Thought<\/h2>\n\n

    Subtitles are a great tool, but they’re far from perfect. Especially in a culturally rich show like Squid Game<\/em>, crucial details can be lost in translation. As a student of Korean, don’t just rely on subtitles as a crutch\u2014use them to help you, but also try to move beyond them. What\u2019s left unsaid in English might be exactly what you need to hear in Korean.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When Squid Game took off, it drew international attention not only to Korean stories, but also to the Korean language. For learners of \ud55c\uad6d\uc5b4 (Korean) who speak English, watching Korean television with subtitles can be an effective learning aid. But what happens if the subtitles fail to capture the original meaning? Let’s explore how the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-korean"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":679,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677\/revisions\/679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}