Is Netflix’s Squid Game Based on a True Story?

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Spilling the tea behind the hit Korean Netflix show
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Squid Game premiered on Netflix in 2021, written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show followed Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, a divorced father struggling with enormous gambling debt who is invited to participate in a series of games alongside other debtors to help pay off their debt. What ensues is a traumatic blood bath, as players quickly learn that the consequence for losing any of the games is death. Considering the gruesome and violent nature of this story, it couldn’t have possibly been inspired by real life events— right? Keep reading to learn the truth behind Squid Game ’s possible origins. Warning: serious spoilers ahead.

Did real events inspire Squid Game ?

For the most part, Squid Game is not based on any real-life events. The title "Squid game" refers to a game that the show's creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, used to play as a kid. He drew inspiration for the show from Japanese comics and the housing debt crisis in South Korea.

Section 1 of 4:

Is Squid Game based on a true story?

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  1. According to the show’s creator, Hwang, there was no “real life” squid game that inspired the show. So, no, there is no known secret society of wealthy sadists who prey upon gamblers with serious debt and trick them into playing children’s games to the death. However, the title “squid game” does refer to a children’s game that Hwang remembered playing as a kid, along with many of the other popular children’s games featured in the series, like Red Light, Green Light, tug of war, and the Dalgona challenge. [1]
    • Hwang shared that he came up with the idea for Squid Game when he was struggling financially, forced to take out loans to support him and his mother, who had recently retired.
    • Hwang was also inspired by events that left their mark on South Korean culture, like the SsangYong Motor layoffs in 2009, when over 2000 employees lost their jobs and livelihood.
    • Additionally, Hwang wanted to portray the housing debt crisis faced by many South Koreans, as a result of increased credit card usage and a unique housing system that often requires renters to pay more than they make. [2]
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Section 2 of 4:

Rumored Inspiration for Squid Game

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  1. A welfare center called Brother’s Home is thought by some to have inspired Squid Game . In the aftermath of the Korean War, the South Korean government wanted to try to clean up major cities as much as possible in order to restore morale, patriotism, and the country’s international reputation. Brother’s Home was a welfare facility opened during the 1970s and 1980s in Busan, claiming to house the homeless and the needy, but their hidden agenda turned out to be way more sinister. [3]
    • The center was built as part of South Korea’s “social purification” movement, which aimed to rid the streets of “vagrants.” However, only about 10% of the people at the facility were unhoused, and many of them were children whose families couldn’t support them.
    • Many firsthand accounts of people who were detained there detail the torture, sexual abuse, and hard labor they were forced to endure. Brother’s Home would later be referred to as “Korea’s Auschwitz.”
    • Despite the cruel similarities between Brother’s Home and the events that transpired in Squid Game , Hwang has never cited it as a source of inspiration for the show, and no concrete connections have ever been confirmed.
Section 3 of 4:

What the Showmaker Has to Say

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  1. 1
    Hwang was inspired by Japanese comics. When asked about his creative process, Hwang shared, “I freely admit that I’ve had great inspiration from Japanese comics and animation over the years.” He credits comics, or anime, like Battle Royale and Liar Game, which led him to wonder how he’d fare in a game to win a big cash prize. He added that the games in the animes seemed too difficult, so he began thinking about a similar concept, except with children’s games. [4]
  2. 2
    Hwang envisioned Squid Game as a microcosm of capitalist society. Hwang was admittedly struggling to make ends meet at the time, so money was always on his mind. “I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life,” he divulged. Despite the grandiose narrative, Hwang sought to ground the characters in reality as much as possible. He said, “I wanted to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life.” [5]
    • Hwang believes that games of survival are made up of “entertainment and human drama,” making it a great premise for a show.
    • Furthermore, Hwang liked the contrast of the simple children’s games to the complex characters playing for their lives: “The games portrayed are extremely simple and easy to understand. That allows viewers to focus on the characters, rather than being distracted by trying to interpret the rules.”
  3. 3
    Hwang had a tough time writing Squid Game . Originally envisioned as a movie, Hwang explained that coming up with the script and complete narrative arc was a challenge. “Writing [ Squid Game ] was harder than normal for me as it was a series, not a film. It took me six months to write and rewrite the first two episodes.” Hwang says he didn’t stop there: he “consulted with friends”, edited accordingly, and continued making revisions all throughout the writing process.
    • When asked about season 2, he was reluctant to make any promises. “I don’t have well developed plans for [it]. It is quite tiring just thinking about it.”
      • Lucky for us— he delivered! Season 2 aired in December of 2024 and season 3 is set to premiere in June 2025.
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Section 4 of 4:

Final Takeaways

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  1. Although Squid Game was not inspired by any one event during which debtors agreed to play children’s games to the death in exchange for a huge cash prize, the show’s creator does cite other sources of inspiration. These include Japanese comics and the housing debt crisis in South Korea, affecting 1 in 5 people. [6]
    • Similarities shared between Squid Game and the Brother’s Home facility in Busan seem to be purely circumstantial and remain unconfirmed.
    • Other unconfirmed sources of inspiration are competition shows like Survivor and The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.
    • Despite having very little real-world ties, many people can relate to the competition aspect of the show as capitalist countries tend to assign a high value to financial success, while condemning those who are doomed to never reach it.

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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/real-kids-games-squid-game-rcna2726
      2. ↑ https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/03/south-korea-has-a-big-household-debt-problem-the-countrys-unique-rental-system-may-be-to-blame.html
      3. ↑ https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/25/asia/south-korea-brothers-home-abuse/index.html
      4. ↑ https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/squid-game-manga-anime-influences.html
      5. ↑ https://variety.com/2021/global/asia/squid-game-director-hwang-dong-hyuk-korean-series-global-success-1235073355/
      6. ↑ https://asianews.network/more-than-1-in-5-south-korean-young-adults-heavily-in-debt/

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