Spoilers ahead of time.

Squid Game, a Korean drama on Netflix, has become a global phenomenon due to its insightful criticism of the corruption of money and social strata. It's undeniable that people of different ethnicities and backgrounds may enjoy it, regardless of their knowledge of Korean, but how does knowing and comprehending Korean affect one's enjoyment of Squid Game?

1. What is the meaning of the name Sae-byeok?
At least once in the series, Kang Sae-byeok and her brother Kang Cheol were informed that they had lovely names; however, the reason for this is never given, so unless you speak Korean, you won't understand. Sae-byeok is a lovely name that means "dawn." As Sang-woo's mother informed him in the last episode, Kang Cheol, which means "steel," is an extremely cool name.

2. Being respectful in Korean
The immigrant from Pakistan, Ali Abdul, speaks to the elderly in the show at the highest level of formality and to everyone else at a formal level. This demonstrates that despite his lack of familiarity with others, he is extremely courteous and respectful of them. In contrast, Sae-byeok uses the least formal language, banmal, in all of her conversations with others. It demonstrates her lack of concern for what people think of her.

3. Being aware of the games beforehand
Since a language cannot be isolated from its underlying culture, you would have been able to recognize clues that might not have been apparent otherwise if you were familiar with Korean and its culture. As soon as it was announced that sugar was involved in episode 2, it was obvious that they would be playing 뽑븰[ppob-gi], a game in which players attempt to extract forms from dalgona sweets. This was especially true when the shapes were unveiled, as many of them were traditional mold shapes for the game.

Another episode is called "Gganbu," a term that previous generations used as youngsters to refer to allies in the games 由지 [ttakji] and 슬 칞기 [guseul chigi]. Gi-hun played a game called 딱지 [ttakji] in the first episode with folded paper squares, so it was obvious that they wouldn't be playing it again. Instead, they would be playing 구슬 칞기 [guseul chigi], or marbles, in that episode.

Learning Korean will help you recognise interesting nuances like this when you watch your favourite Korean dramas on Netflix.