Saturday Night Live, best known by acronym SNL, is an American late-night TV sketch comedy that has been entertaining its fans since 1975.

Vast and diverse cast members perform the show's comedic skits, which frequently satirize modern society and politics. Similarly, parodies of various shows and movies are also featured on the show. 

In addition, each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest who provides the opening monologue and acts in performances with the cast. Different musical guests also provide highlighted performances making the show worth watching. 

On October 16, 2021, Rami Malek hosted the third episode of the 47th season of SNL alongside musical guest Young Thug. While the skits and performances were entertaining, one particular routine got backlash from the Korean audience. 

SNL made a parody song about Squid Game, the #1 show on Netflix at the moment. When Squid Game was released over a month ago, it took over the entire world and is still trending to this date. 

So, it is not a surprise that SNL chose to make a parody out of the South Korean series. But, unfortunately, it is not sitting well with their fans from Korea.

The 'Squid Game' Parody Song

Pete Davidson and Malek sang a song about their poor luck and crushing debts to the tune of Branchez & Big Wet's 'Turn Up On the Weekend.' The music set was a convincingly realistic replica of the show's set, including the games played in it. 

Davidson sang that he was broke and would have to play the game to earn money. As the pre-taped comedy proceeded, Malek continued, "Weird cards, pink guards, locked us in a big room."

He then sang about the money offered for winning the game with the lyrics, "45 billion won, that's a whole lot of money. At least I think it is... I'm confused by the currency."

Davidson's hilariously dyed his hair red by the end of the song, indicating the series finale. He sang about improving his life with his newly acquired wealth, but he became bored and wagered it all on the New York Jets, which he lost.

Davidson ended the song by declaring that he was broke once more and that he was "heading back to the Squid Game." 

Discrimination against Korea

In the comment section of the parody music video, there were many positive comments regarding the currency lyrics sang by Malek. Many people said they could relate to it, but people from Korea reacted otherwise. 

Screenshots from a forum discussion on theQoos (via Koreaboo) showed that the Koreans were angry at SNL for being ignorant and their blatant discrimination against Korea. 

The conversation sparked because of the conversion of South Korean Won (KRW) to American dollars (USD) by SNL. In the parody, Malek converts the KRW 4 billion to USD.

That amount was around KRW 41.6 billion less than what was the actual prize from the game. Similarly, they also provided incorrect calculations during conversion. 

The KRW 4 billion, when converted to USD, amounts to $3.38 million, but in the parody, the converted money amounts to only USD 47.89. This was not digested by the Korean audience, and they blamed SNL for treating them in a derogatory manner. 

Similarly, some people also complained about SNL riding on their popularity but still radiating discrimination when possible. SNL has not responded to any of these accusations.