In the Netflix drama Squid Game dead competitors are taken to a morgue where their organs are removed by an unscrupulous doctor. Earlier in the show the main character Seong Gi-hoon signs his organs away when loan sharks confront him about unpaid debt.
Organ harvesting is a common trope in Korean films and dramas. "The Man From Nowhere" a.k.a. "Ajeossi", a 2010 vehicle for A-list actor Won Bin, is but a particularly horrific example. Earlier this year TV series Taxi Driver introduced organ trafficking as a central plot element. Squid Game, too, references organ trade in underscoring how human bodies themselves can become commodities in hyper-capitalist Korea.
It begs the question: can human organs actually get traded in Korea?