Squid Game: The Sexism Behind the Response to Han Mi-Nyeo

Spoiler free!

 Squid Game, the Korean drama series that took the world by storm when it launched on Netflix this month, was a phenomenon, filled with enough character development to satisfy even the most cynical of viewers. 

And while the response to this show was overwhelmingly positive, there was one common response that seemed irrational and, when looked into deeper, even misogynistic. 

Meet Han Mi-Nyeo, player 212. Witty and resourceful, she is a shameless character. She is not selfish - at least, no more than any of the other characters. She does, of course, look out for her own survival, but this is fitting for a world in which people are so desperate for money that they are willing to risk their lives for a 1/456 chance at clearing their debts (and a 455/456 chance of dying).

In one of her earliest scenes, she intervenes when Deok-su is harassing Kang Sae-byeok by diverting his attention onto her and flirting with him. This is portrayed, by this author's eyes at least, to be one sister helping out another by putting herself into the crossfire. 

Later, she is seen smuggling cigarettes into the arena and smoking by herself in the bathroom contentedly. She is interrupted by Kang Sae-byeok, who wants access to the vent above her stall, and she happily allows this in return for a promise of information should Sae-byeok see anything. She then embarrasses herself to the guards to protect them both.

So what is her crime? Why does she seem to provoke so much hatred in viewers?

She tries to seduce archetypal gangster Deok-su for an advantage in the game. Could this be why she is so hated? Is it really that horrible for a woman, when desperate and confronted with life or death, to try to charm her way to success?

She later, along with a group of men, pushes in the line to get an extra serving of food and water. Note that the hatred is directed at her and not her male counterparts. Could that be it? 

She harbours a resentment for the man who betrayed her, and holds this until her death? Could that be it? Perhaps - but then, why was the hatred directed only at her and not the other characters who held a grudge? 

No. Her true crime? Being an 'annoying woman', which in cinema seems to secure your fate - your character will be hated much more than even the most evil of on-screen male characters. 

Han Mi-Neyo is unabashedly herself - she is arrogant at times, she is fickle, and can perhaps be immature. But are we really hating her more for being childish in a scary situation - more than the man who kicked another man to death for standing up to him when he took more than his share of food?

With a response much akin to the response to Skylar in Breaking Bad, which was deeply rooted in misogyny and even led actress Anna Gunn to publish a response to the hate mail she was receiving, it is shocking that this attitude has been shared by so many even now. 

The message? People say they love antiheroes - think Joe Goldberg, Walter White, etcetera. Yet when faced with a shrill woman? The world doesn't seem to be ready. 

It is time to appreciate complex female characters: even the whiny ones. And as always - fuck your patriarchy. 

Written by Jasmine Lowen