Squid Game creator explained true origin of show as comparisons to Korean concentration camp go viral

While Squid Game 2 breaks Netflix viewership records, it turns out that the premise for the chilling series was based on real-life events.

The second season of show sees the return of Seong Gi-hun's (Lee Jung-jae), three years after winning the competition.

Still haunted by his previous experience, his plan is to take out the organisation from within, but complications arise after Player 001 Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) enters the game.

His ulterior motives soon unravel as the series goes on - we won't go further, in case you're still waiting to watch it.

Squid Game was inspired by real-life events

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk claims that the story of Gi-hun being laid off was inspired by the 2009 Ssangyong Motor strikes in South Korea, as well as his own financial struggles.

The strikes began after Ssangyong - once South Korea's fourth largest car manufacturer - issued mass layoffs, blaming financial issues amid the global economic crisis.

Over 2,600 employees were reportedly fired and, as a response, the former staff members occupied the Pyeongtaek plant, demanding job security and better working conditions.

This standoff, which included confrontations with riot police, tear gas, and water cannons, lasted 77 days, becoming one of South Korea's most violent labor conflicts.

Another source of inspiration for the creator were Japanese comics, he told Variety.

“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,” Hwang said.

“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.”

What the internet think Squid Game was inspired by

Various TikTok users have speculated that the Netflix series was inspired by an internment camp in Busan, South Korea, known as the 'Brothers' Home'.

The concentration camp operated during the 70s and 80s, pretending to be a rehabilitation facility for vagrants and homeless people.

However, in reality, it was a place where severe human rights abuses took place, as thousands of people, including children, were detained.

Many were abducted from the streets and were subjected to forced labour and physical abuse.

After a whistleblower exposed events in the late 80s, there were reports of torture, sexual assault, and deaths.

Han Jong-sun has recalled the moment he and his sister were abducted and taken to the facility at Hyungje Bokjiwon, telling the BBC: "A bus stopped in front of the police substation and we were forced into the bus.

"A police officer exchanged unknown signs with the people who got off the bus.

"We had no idea where we were taken to. 'Daddy told us to wait here! Daddy is coming!' We cried and bawled.

"They started beating us, saying that we were too loud."

Choi Seung-woo, another survivor, added: "A police officer asked me to stop and started searching my bag.

"There was half a loaf of bread, a leftover of my lunch which was given from school.

"He asked where I stole the bread from. He tortured me, burning my genitals with a lighter. He kept beating me, saying he wasn't going to let me go unless I confessed to the 'crime'.

"Just wanting to go home, I lied. 'I stole it, I stole it. Please let me go…'"

Despite this theory making the sounds on TikTok, Dong-hyuk has never cited the camp as a source of inspiration for his show.

Are the viral 'real Squid Games' pictures real?

The brightly-coloured pictures, which bear much resemblance to the now-iconic Squid Game set, seem to be in fact AI-generated.

These widely shared images were actually created by online artist Efe Levent, who posted them to Instagram in late 2024 with the caption 'Going up?'.

Under the post, the artist and author replied to a commenter mentioning his pictures being mistaken for what online users are calling the 'real Squid Game', saying: "I noticed this image really went viral all over the world. I’m just pleased people got to see it lol."