Is Squid Game Based on a Real Story?

Red Light, Green Light...Red Light, Green Light....! Sounded fun when we all were a kid right? Honestly this was one of my favorite games when I was 6, but when I saw people playing this game on the Netflix show : Squid Game, it kinda became a nightmare for me.
When Squid Game premiered on Netflix in 2021, it was much more than any other series. It was a cultural reference point that captured millions of viewers worldwide, giving an intense and thought-provoking look into some of society's deepest problems.

It did not only entertain but forced the world to consider the issues of economic inequality, human desperation, and moral decay. An easy premise but haunting: 456 gamblers all drowning in debt are pulled into a game of survival through childhood games where losing is lethal.
Shocking visuals, an intense plot might have caught the attention of everyone, but the undercurrent messages in it regarding society's plights, weight of history, and human resilience are the real differences that separate Squid Game from any other Netflix series. The excitement over the second season is only adding more intrigue to the show.

The chilling brutality in Squid Game resonates with the dark realities of history, such as the horrific experiments conducted in Unit 731. Ever heard of it? Unit 731 was a horrific unit where humans were experimented for war purposes in order to make a biological weapon to use in wars. Click here to know more details.

Brothers Home : The Horrific History

"Image of children and adults at a nighttime gathering." From Kim et al., 
The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. 

As there are tons of theories exposing the reality of the Squid Game, we have to go back in time to South Korea's history in the 1970s and 80s, a time marked by political oppression and social injustice.
According to Al Jazeera, Brothers Home was run under an ordinance by Korean government to ''Purify the Streets'' known as no.410. Back then in 1975, this ordinance was operated and extended by then President, Chun Doo-Hwan.

Al Jazeera, Secrets of South Korea’s House of Horrors Hidden in Australia,
December 10, 2021. Read more.

During this period, welfare centers such as Brothers Home in Busan were, in fact, shelters where the weak, homeless, disabled, and political dissidents were put behind bars, exploited, and brutalized under the worst circumstances. Stripped by identity, the prisoners were reduced to mere numbers just like the players in Squid Game.

Did you know Squid Game isn’t the only Netflix series rooted in harsh realities? Discover other Netflix hits inspired by real-life true crime stories. Explore them here.

However, there is no evidence that in any circumstances, this incident was inspired for the making of the Netflix series- Squid Game. Neither the creator of the show has mentioned any sort of connection with this ordinance.

Image Courtesy of Brothers Home Welfare Center Incident Countermeasures Committee,
                                            taken by Al Jazeera. Read more.

According to The New York Times, more than 650 people died by the brutality and inhumane atrocities while many were beaten, raped and used for slave labour: 

''The scandal at Brothers Home has long been one of the best documented among the numerous cases of rights abuses under Korea’s successive dictatorships. Over the decades, survivors have written books​. Major TV stations have released investigativedocumentaries​. Human rights groups and newspapers have run multipart series on the abuse and attempts to cover it up.''

How do the life-and-death stakes in Squid Game compare to the chilling unsolved disappearances across Asia? Some of these cases are stranger than fiction. Find out more.

Japanese Influences and popular culture

Although Squid Game is a series that heavily draws from South Korean history, there is still some inspiration borrowed from Japanese pop culture. Some other shows are Battle Royale, As the Gods Will , and Alice in Borderland, with survival themes and the criticism of economic inequality.

It tells tales that put its characters in lethal games, more to do with societal hierarchies' brutalities and how desperate people can be under pressure to go to the extreme. All these influences get weaved together in South Korean culture so that *Squid Game* can be a taste of quintessential local flavor while remaining something all can relate to.

The Face of Justice in a World of Chaos by Seong Gi-Hun

However, a few moments in ''Squid Game'' do reflect and resemble the events happened in South Korea's history. 

According to 'The Nation', the protagonist Seong's back history reflects the Carmakers decision to lay off more than 2000 workers in 2009.
The Ssangyong Motor strike during 2009, laid-off 2,646 at its headquarters plant in Seoul. In response to which, nearly a thousand workers went on a strike for as long as 77 days and occupied the factory site, resulting to the workers being subjected to police brutality and systemic neglect. These historical events formed a grim reality which the Squid Game expresses: financial ruin as an impossible trap that results in survival turning into the unattained dream.
After long years, the surviving workers sought for justice and compensation in the courts, followed by deaths of around 30 employees and their spouses, mostly by suicide.

Coming back to Seong Gi-Hun's character, he also lost his job in that factory and started working as a gig driver. He even fails after trying to open a restaurant followed by his wife giving him divorce, who also took her daughter with her.
As a low-wage street vendor, Gi-Hun places bet on horse races and lose money followed by a huge debt to the loan sharks, apparently he has no choice than going into the Squid Game.

Do the eerie and lifeless sets of Squid Game remind you of real-life abandoned places? These haunting locations will make you question what’s left behind. Discover them here.

Global Impact of Squid Game

By telling an outstandingly excellent story of purely human character couched in an unforgettable cast of characters. And yet, the global popularity of SquidGame also reflects its fully universal themes for those living in a world where the economic gap is expanding day after day; the hopelessness of the characters in SquidGame feels very real today.

                                     

International fame has been a double edged sword and a double blessing for Wi Ha-jun. On the one hand, it catapulted him to international fame, which brought in brand deals and more acting opportunities, but the pressure came with a side of it. "I felt like I was living my dream, but I also thought, 'Is this really happening?'" he shared. This mixing of excitement and anxiety is one of the scenarios that many people have been finding themselves in once they gain limelight- a thing as complex as the characters they act out.

A Reflection on Society

At its core, Squid Game represents a reflection of the world we live in. The deadly games formed a mirror with which to express the cutthroat competition found within capitalisms as the rich took on the simplicity of the foolish for amusement and financial gain.
The desperation by the players would then represent a more substantial number caged by their respective poverty, debt, and subjugation. Child games, pure and fun to play, became a grim test of survival, a grim commentary on how humanity can be stripped away for the sake of greed.
Another way in which this moral decay is traversed is through the exploration of the relationship between Jun-ho and his brother, In-ho. The way In-ho evolves from a good brother to being the genius behind the games is a really disturbing reminder of how bad power and desperation can be at corrupting even the closest of bonds.

Future: What's Next

Squid Game season 3 will be coming and the stakes have never been this high. This time, because of the exposure of the betrayal of the captain and further conspiracy, it will seem that Jun-ho's quest to unveil the truth would dig into more complex moral and emotional turf as the story unfolds, especially since it digs deeper into the heart of human morality and the fight for justice.
A bit more than for all of us watching and loving, Squid Game is more of a call upon us to ponder the inequalities among our own and question the existing systems that harbor such injustice from flourishing.

Before you go further, don’t forget to check out [THE PHANTOM BEHIND BITCOIN: SATOSHI NAKAMOTO]

Writer and Director's Words

In an interview with the The Guardian, Hwang Dong-Hyun describes the struggles he had to go through after the 2009 financial crash and the origin of the ''Squid Game',:

“I read Battle Royal and Liar Game and other survival game comics. I related to the people in them, who were desperate for money and success. That was a low point in my life. If there was a survival game like these in reality, I wondered, would I join it to make money for my family? I realised that, since I was a film-maker, I could put my own touch to these kinds of stories so I started on the script.”
“It’s not profound! It’s very simple! I do believe that the overall global economic order is unequal and that around 90% of the people believe that it’s unfair. During the pandemic, poorer countries can’t get their people vaccinated. They’re contracting viruses on the streets and even dying. So I did try to convey a message about modern capitalism. As I said, it’s not profound.”

Speaking to Variety, Hwang Dong-Hyun expresses the idea of the Squid Game and the inspirations behind it:

“I freely admit that I’ve had great inspiration from Japanese comics and animation over the years,” he said. “When I started, I was in financial straits myself and spent much time in cafes reading comics including ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘Liar Game.’ I came to wonder how I’d feel if I took part in the games myself. But I found the games too complex, and for my own work focused instead on using kids’ games.

“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. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life,” Hwang said. “As a survival game it is entertainment and human drama. 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.”

Conclusion

Squid Game is a cultural marvel that has found its way, crossing borders with the hearts of people all across the world and touching their thoughts. Its mix of historical truths, social commentary, and personal struggles makes for a strong narrative that's as heartbreaking as it is thought-provoking. For me, Squid Game is not only a series to watch but also a case study to learn from about storytelling, media impact, and the power of entertainment to inspire real world conversations.

References and Further Reading

For readers interested in exploring more about Squid Game and its inspirations, here are some insightful sources:

• Yahoo Entertainment – Know the True Events That Inspired Squid Game
• CheatSheet – Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite Movies That Helped Inspire Squid Game
• Snopes – No, Squid Game Is Not Based on a True Story
• Hot Press – Squid Game: It Speaks to the Growing Inequality Between Rich and Poor
• LADBible – Squid Game Theory: Is It Inspired by a Korean Concentration Camp?
• MSN News – No, Squid Game Is Not Based on a True Story – Here’s What Really Inspired It