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The nightmarish sounds of Squid Game composer Jung Jae-il: ‘Having no identity very much defines my identity’
EntertainmentMusicMusic News•March 30, 2026 at 3:00 PMNational

The nightmarish sounds of Squid Game composer Jung Jae-il: ‘Having no identity very much defines my identity’

By Kelly Burke•The Guardian Music

Korean composer behind Netflix’s most-watched series on the calculated imperfection in his scoresGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIf you were among the 265 million viewers who made Squid Game Netflix’s most-watched series so far, you were likely left mentally and aurally scarred by first season’s end, traumatised by the discordant whistle of a child’s recorder; the sheer banality of a primary school music room reimagined as a herald of human carnage.That sound was the work of composer Jung Jae-il, whose career has been defined by this sort of strange and unsettling contradiction; he is a master in the art of subverting all that is musically familiar – recasting the naive, the genteel and the elegant into the chilling harbingers of horror.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

Korean composer behind Netflix’s most-watched series on the calculated imperfection in his scores

If you were among the 265 million viewers who made Squid Game Netflix’s most-watched series so far, you were likely left mentally and aurally scarred by first season’s end, traumatised by the discordant whistle of a child’s recorder; the sheer banality of a primary school music room reimagined as a herald of human carnage.

That sound was the work of composer Jung Jae-il, whose career has been defined by this sort of strange and unsettling contradiction; he is a master in the art of subverting all that is musically familiar – recasting the naive, the genteel and the elegant into the chilling harbingers of horror.

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Continue reading...