Squid Games Under Fire: Should Netflix Employ Better Subtitle Translator Services?

The Korean survival drama, Squid Games, has recently taken the internet by storm.

Taking number one spot in over 90 countries since its release, Squid Games is Netflix’s most-watched show of all time. It’s even taken over the likes of other recent favourites, The Crown and Bridgerton.

Despite its popularity, Netflix has been scrutinised for its poor subtitles by Korean speakers. It’s been argued there are tremendous disparities between the authentic Korean language and the subtitled captions used.

A famous TikTok user, Youngmi Mayer, stated, “if you don’t understand Korean, you didn’t watch the same show.” According to her, the dialogue was written so well for the drama, but the subtitles created by Netflix didn’t do it justice.

Many bilingual and multilingual Korean speakers felt much of the show was lost in translation. In response to this, experts in subtitling describe it as an art form that’s often under-appreciated and underfunded by industry practice.

So why are subtitles so essential, and what are their main benefits in business?

Firstly, subtitles are the translated version of a video transcript. They usually appear as text at the bottom of the screen. A subtitle translator aims to give the viewer a real-time experience of what is happening without the need to understand the language.

Subtitling is an art form and science with many things taken into consideration for their accuracy. For example, a professional subtitle creator will have to consider the different video frames and choose the best for specific subtitles. They’ll also need to pace subtitles for better readability and choose font styles and formatting to suit.

The benefits of subtitles:

Subtitle translators make video content far more valuable for several reasons.

Provides clarity

Whether videos are in different languages or if the presented subject is difficult to understand, subtitles can provide audiences with clarity. This is particularly helpful for viewers who are not well associated with your industry.

Online accessibility

Statistics show that a lot of video content consumed on social media is watched without sound. Therefore, it’s key to include subtitles on all forms of video content made for your business. To further connect with your audience, you can use translation services.

More Inclusive

Globally, subtitles allow video content to be enjoyed by everyone as it provides different language options for viewers. It also benefits those with hearing impairments, meaning subtitles make your content much more inclusive.

Engagement

With the other advantages, subtitled videos increase engagement. It allows viewers to follow along, and they’re far more likely to stay concentrated. Sometimes the brain benefits from having extra resources such as text for retaining information.

In conclusion, high-quality subtitles may seem challenging to achieve, but they offer video content fantastic value. Make things easier for your business by employing experts in the industry. At Talking Heads, we assist in turning any audio you need transcribing into clear and simple text for your convenience. We understand how time-consuming it is to take audio entries from minutes to hours, such as an interview or meeting, and translate them to a high standard. At Talking Heads, we make sure that the audio is perfectly transcribed and nothing of importance is missed.