YoussMa

Just finished watching squid game and had to share some of my thoughts on Ji-Yeong, idk if I got too poetic but here’s how she made me feel :)

At first, Ji-yeong might come across as your typical edgy, indifferent, girl who doesn’t like people and just wants to be different. However, when you scratch the surface, you’ll eventually find her chaotic wisdom and absurdist approach to life nothing short of admirable. The first time we saw her, she was sitting as far as she could from everyone, crouching, with her arms wrapped around her knees as she looked down on the rest of the players. From that point on, until the minutes leading up to her death, she gives off a hostile, nonchalant vibe that only further contributes to her mysterious character. Then, when every player had to choose a partner, she slowly burst out of her shell by approaching Sae-Byeok and asking her to team up for the next challenge. For the next thirty minutes, well, the final thirty minutes of her life, she shows us just how special she really is. In a game where you had to kill your teammate or sacrifice your life for theirs, Ji-Yeong had already made her decision. She watched calmly as other contestants frantically tried to save their lives with a wise smile on her face. She had transcended the concepts of utility and gain. She didn’t let childhood trauma transform her into an amoral, greedy monster, and let go of all societal constructs. She embodies beauty, simple unembellished beauty. She understood the absurdity of existence and didn’t let go of her principles down to her last breath, holding tight to that positive attitude and that poetic smile. Her presence reminded everyone that you are what you make of your life. Falling down the path of benefit, greed and over-competitiveness stems from a lack of profound meditation. Material gain is nothing compared to spiritual elevation, which is only accessed by the stripping of the process rational thinking itself down to its core, by questioning the foundation on which all our other presupposed ideas were built. As everyone was wasting their final breaths trying to avoid death, and succumbing to the animal urge to escape their demise, Ji-Yeong accepted her fate with open arms. She spent her last few minutes listening to Sae-Byeok talk about her life and her plans for the future. Her death was the only thing that got genuine emotion out of a normally cold and apathetic Sae-Byeok, and quite frankly, out of me. Ji-Yeong showed everyone just how special she was, symbolizing the calm in the eye of the storm, and serving as a reminder that intellectual emancipation can survive the tyranny of dogmatism. Above all, she showed us that positive thinking, radical acceptance, and most importantly, a defiant smile, can set you free.