Korean-speaking viewers of the hit show Squid Game have noticed a very clever detail about Kang Sae-byeok's accent in the show.
The hugely popular Netflix series has become the most-watched show on the platform in more than 90 countries, and fans of the show have been showering the cast with praise for delivering incredibly poignant and nuanced performances throughout its nine episodes.
Actress Jung Ho-yeon, in particular, has seen her popularity soar following the Netflix debut of Squid Game.
She plays player number 67, Kang Sae-byeok, who takes part in a deadly competition in the hope of winning money for her younger brother and her detained mother in China after their family's attempt to flee North Korea.
Because Sae-byeok is from North Korea, she naturally speaks in a North Korean accent. However, Korean viewers such as Reddit user soyfox and podcaster Youngmi Mayer have noticed that when she is around the other, mostly South Korean, characters she attempts to conceal her real accent.
Her North Korean accent only becomes apparent when she is heard speaking to her brother.
She typically waters down her North Korean accent when she is around the South Korean players in order to avoid any discriminatory remarks.
Her efforts to conceal her identity make sense when she is later referred to as a "spy" and "communist" when some of the players realize that she is North Korean.
Although non-Korean speaking fans, who are watching dubbed versions of the show or are watching a version with subtitles, will mostly like not notice the subtle accent change - it is still a very clever and important aspect of the original Korean version.
Speaking to W Korea, Jung revealed that she learned how to speak in a North Korean accent by watching "a lot of documentaries about North Korean defectors."
She also explained that she spent a great deal of time practicing the accent with a teacher who helped her in her preparation for the role as a young North Korean woman.
Squid Game premiered on Netflix on September 17 and is already on track to become Netflix's most-watched show of all time.
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