Netflix is facing backlash for how it treated survivors in its new docuseries The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies. Viewers are outraged over Netflix dressing survivors in tracksuits resembling those worn at the brutal “Brothers’ Home” internment camp featured in episode 1.
The series covers four tragedies, including Brothers’ Home, Busan’s infamous welfare facility where people were kidnapped, abused, starved, and some killed under Korea’s military dictatorship from 1975 to 1987. An estimated 647 out of 40,000 inmates died while imprisoned there.
Critics slammed Netflix for visually retraumatizing victims by having them wear these tracksuits, which closely resemble those in the hit K-Drama Squid Game—a series rumored to be inspired by Brothers’ Home.
“…they retraumatized the victims…”
Viewers compared the look to dressing Holocaust survivors in prison uniforms and called the aesthetic choices insensitive.
The controversy began after the docuseries release, sparking debate online about Netflix’s approach to representing historical abuse and the survivors involved.
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The Echoes of Survivors follows Netflix’s 2023 docuseries In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal. This new show dives into four tragedies: Brothers’ Home, the JMS church, the “Chijon family” murders, and the Sampoong Department Store collapse.
The series is already sparking fierce debate over Netflix’s handling of survivor stories and the ethical line between documentation and retraumatization.
Watch the trailer here:
[YouTube embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEdC9Iowdyc]
Source: Korea JoongAng Daily and Time
