Squid Game: Children’s Game or TV Show?

Hwang Dong-hyuk uses a Korean childhood game as inspiration for his Netflix show.

Stella Shaw, Social Media Manager

‘Squid Game’ has become the number one show on Netflix.

The recent released Netflix show, ‘Squid Game’ has become so popular the majority is watching. The Netflix show’s audience is infatuated by the interesting portrayal of the classic Korean childhood game. 

The idea for the Netflix show  was inspired by the creator’s fascination with his own experience from playing the Korean children’s game, Squid Game. 

“Squid Game was the most physically aggressive childhood game I played in neighborhood alleys as a kid, which is why I also loved it the most,” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk continued, “In a way, it’s the most symbolic game that reflects today’s competitive society, so I picked it out as the show’s title.”

Interestingly enough, the Netflix show is quite gruesome for being based off a childhood game. The series starts out with 456 players and a cash reward of translation of $38 million American dollars; but when each player realizes that with every challenge comes with possibility of injury or death, the game quickly turns into a bloody battle till death. As each episode unravels, the audience learns more and more about each character’s lives — making it more dramatic when a character dies.

“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,” says Hwang “But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life.”