Fans celebrate 'Squid Game' finale with Seoul parade
The third and final season was released Friday, concluding the series that sees desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children's games for a massive cash prize.
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said he had "poured everything" into the series, which launched nearly four years ago.
"So while it's sentimental to see it end," he said, "there's also a sense of relief".
Fans gathered near Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace, led by marchers dressed in the bright pink uniforms worn by the show's mysterious masked agents.
They were followed by others carrying oversize toys from one of the games featured in the series, along with the show's flag.
Park Sang-gyu, a fan who stayed up all night watching the final season, said the dystopian drama was "ultimately a story about people".
"As you watch, you realise it's not just about the games -- it reflects many aspects of real life."
The walls of the Seoul Metropolitan Library were lit up with key scenes, including Young-hee -- the giant motion-sensing animatronic doll featured in one of its brutal games.
Lee Byung-hun, who played the masked Front Man overseeing the competition, said the show had become "something of a cultural phenomenon".
"One that has drawn one of the boldest lines in the history of Korean content," he said.
The first two seasons of the series are among Netflix's most-watched shows, and in 2022, Hwang and the show's leading actor, Lee Jung-jae, became the first Asian men to win Emmy Awards.
The final season follows its hero Gi-hun, played by Lee, as he returns to the ultra-violent games to dismantle them from within after surviving the first round.
Along with filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 2019 thriller "Parasite" and K-pop sensation BTS, "Squid Game" is considered one of the most powerful examples of South Korea's rise as a global cultural force.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
19 hours ago
- France 24
Fans celebrate 'Squid Game' finale with Seoul parade
The third and final season was released Friday, concluding the series that sees desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children's games for a massive cash prize. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said he had "poured everything" into the series, which launched nearly four years ago. "So while it's sentimental to see it end," he said, "there's also a sense of relief". Fans gathered near Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace, led by marchers dressed in the bright pink uniforms worn by the show's mysterious masked agents. They were followed by others carrying oversize toys from one of the games featured in the series, along with the show's flag. Park Sang-gyu, a fan who stayed up all night watching the final season, said the dystopian drama was "ultimately a story about people". "As you watch, you realise it's not just about the games -- it reflects many aspects of real life." The walls of the Seoul Metropolitan Library were lit up with key scenes, including Young-hee -- the giant motion-sensing animatronic doll featured in one of its brutal games. Lee Byung-hun, who played the masked Front Man overseeing the competition, said the show had become "something of a cultural phenomenon". "One that has drawn one of the boldest lines in the history of Korean content," he said. The first two seasons of the series are among Netflix's most-watched shows, and in 2022, Hwang and the show's leading actor, Lee Jung-jae, became the first Asian men to win Emmy Awards. The final season follows its hero Gi-hun, played by Lee, as he returns to the ultra-violent games to dismantle them from within after surviving the first round. Along with filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 2019 thriller "Parasite" and K-pop sensation BTS, "Squid Game" is considered one of the most powerful examples of South Korea's rise as a global cultural force.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
Film of the Week: 'F1 The Movie' - in the pits with Pitt
Stop me if you've seen this one before... A talented, reckless loner who has seen better days gets coaxed out of retirement for one last ride. Along the way, he'll butt heads with a cocky whippersnapper who still has plenty to learn. And wouldn't you know it, the initial frostiness between the two hunky men melts into mutual respect, and the grouchy veteran ends up learning something too as he finally walks into the sunset, having become richer for the experience. Yeah, that's what we're working with for this Apple Original, Lewis Hamilton-produced sports film which yearns to be an old-school, high-octane celebration of Formula One. To be fair, in this respect, F1 – or should that be, F1® The Movie, for algorithmic purposes you understand - succeeds. However, as a high stakes drama featuring three dimensional characters and a decent script that isn't just an excuse for cramming in as much product placement as humanly possible and showing off quite to what extent Brad Pitt still looks like a Greek God aged 61, F1® The Movie is a broadly enjoyable but soulless blockbuster that passes the time providing you like your macho loners roguish and watching cars go vroom vroom vroooooom. You really can't fault them for trying. Following the success of Netflix's hit documentary series Formula One: Drive To Survive, making a big budget ad with a sponsors-pleasing trademark symbol in the title seems like a sure-fire way to get bums on theatre seats. But when you have a reported $300 million budget to play with, the least anyone could have done was chuck a few quid in the direction of the writer's room. In F1® The Movie, we follow how veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is tempted back by former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem, charming as ever) to get behind the wheel of an F1 car, as a last-ditch attempt to save his flagging APXGP team from being sold by the shareholders. Along for the ride is Joshua Pearce (Damon Idris), a talented rookie in dire need of a mentor, and the team's technical director, Kate McKenna (standout Kerry Condon), who is tasked with turning the 'shitbox' car into a 'combat' machine. At least she's an age-appropriate love interest, because we all know where this leads. The team have nine races leading to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to turn it all around and show quite to what extent the world of Formula One is really terrific and not at all problematic sport like so many others, la la la we can't hear you. Director Joseph Kosinski, cinematographer Claudio Miranda and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who previously collaborated on 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, are all reunited here to... well, do much of the same. Except this time, it's with Brad Pitt and not Tom Cruise. To their credit, Kosinski and Miranda manage to shoot cars like they did planes, and make the racing scenes immersive. By using shooting on real circuits with the full co-operation of the organisers and using new, smaller IMAX cameras that sit on the cars, this will be the closest you'll get to living the F1 experience. The Easter egg cameos from real F1 pilots like Max Verstappen and Hamilton also add an air of authenticity to the proceedings. The weak link is Kruger, whose formulaic screenplay underserves the talent and resumes itself to: macho bravado is great, and lines like: "I'm just as bad as I used to be" and 'Do we have the car?' / 'We have THE DRIVER!' Add the lazy exposition from voice-over commentators during the race ('This is not where he wants to be – last place' - oh, gee, thanks a bunch, scribe!) and there are genuinely moments when you want to wrap your lips around an exhaust pipe. But then again, this is the same Ehren Kruger who botched up Scream 3, gave us scripts for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction, as well as the much-maligned live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell... So let's not act too surprised about the generic nature of this underdog sports drama. For all the F1® The Movie bashing, this crowd-pleaser isn't a bad time at the talkies. Provided you can look past the formulaic plot and the fact F1® The Movie is often half a movie and half a blatant PR exercise brimming with distracting product placement, it has its moments. Condon is great; the score by the ever-reliable Hans Zimmer is strong; some nice (if obvious) needle drops from classic rock legends Queen and Led Zeppelin sit well alongside chart-toppers RAYE, Tate McRae and Doja Cat; and again, the race scenes deliver the rubber-burning goods. If only they'd spent a bit more time and money on avoiding clichés and crafting something that feels less like an expensive corporate promo... Then the pedal could have truly been put to the metal. F1® The Movie is out in cinemas now.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Anna Wintour steps down as US Vogue editor after nearly 40 years
Wintour, 75, was famous for making Vogue's front covers an authoritative statement on contemporary fashion, and for her total control over the glamorous pages inside. She will no longer run day-to-day editing of the fashion bible, but magazine group owner Conde Nast was quick to scotch suggestions that she was retiring. She will continue to hold senior roles at the group and remain Vogue's global editorial director, a company source said. British-born Wintour came to wider public renown as the inspiration for "The Devil Wears Prada," a hit 2003 novel and 2006 movie, for which Meryl Streep earned an Oscar nomination for her role as tyrannical magazine editor Miranda Priestly. Wintour announced at a staff meeting in New York that the monthly publication would seek a new head of editorial content, several US media reported. Fashion flagship She was made a British dame in 2017 and in February this year became a companion of honour, joining a select group never numbering more than 65 recognized for major contributions in their field. At the ceremony in London in February, Wintour removed her trademark sunglasses to receive the award and said she had told King Charles III that she had no plans to stop working. Wintour, who was raised in the UK by a British father and an American mother, reigned over Vogue in the heyday of glossy magazines. US Vogue was a staid title when she took it over in 1988 and transformed it into a powerhouse that set trends -- and make or break designers, celebrities and brands. She took the title to a global audience, with huge budgets to spend on models, design, photographs and journalism funded by lavish advertisements and high subscription rates. Vogue remains fashion's flagship magazine but, like many print publications, has struggled to adapt to the digital era. Wintour was known for decisive leadership, such as axing work without discussion, and as a fixture in the front row at catwalk shows with her unchanging bob haircut. A 2015 documentary "The September Issue" about the magazine pointed to her ice queen image and steely ambition but also revealed a warmer human side. Wintour has for many years also run the Met Gala, an extravagant Manhattan fundraiser that attracts an A-list of dressed-up stars from the worlds of fashion, film, politics and sports. As Conde Nast's chief content officer, she will continue to oversee publications including Vogue, Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, Conde Nast Traveler and Glamour. For many years, Wintour declined to comment on "The Devil Wears Prada," which was written by one of Wintour's former assistants, Lauren Weisberger. But when it was turned into a musical and opened in London in 2024, she told the BBC that it was "for the audience and for the people I work with to decide if there are any similarities between me and Miranda Priestly." Explaining her sunglasses, she told the outlet that "they help me see and they help me not see. They help me be seen and not be seen. They are a prop, I would say."
