The Squid Game is a South Korean miniseries that premiered on September 17 on Netflix. Since then, it has caused a sensation among users, until it became the protagonist of countless memes and became a trend in social networks, where there are practically only positive comments for its story, which manages to catch viewers to the point of not stopping to see it until it ends.
Brutal, sadistic and full of symbolismThis is how this series is that takes away the innocent from children’s games to turn them into terrifying and deadly experiences. The plot revolves around a group of people with serious financial problems, who will find on their way the opportunity to get out of misery, by participate in a mysterious children’s game, where they have a chance to win 45.6 billion won; but they also run the risk of dying in the attempt.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the screenwriter and director of the series, has said that he wrote the story of The Squid Game Inspired by the games he enjoyed as a child, but has taken a grim twist to turn them into an allegory of modern society.
The following are some interesting facts about this shocking story:
1. Where does the title come from
Dong-hyuk explained that the title of the series The Squid Game refers to a traditional South Korean game that children used to play in the 70’s. It consists of drawing on the ground different geometric shapes (circle, square or triangle), which, when joined, seem to form a squid. “It is something that I used to play as a child in the schoolyard or in the small streets of the neighborhood,” said the screenwriter and director.
“This is a story about people who used to play this game as children and played it again as adults. I felt that this could be the most symbolic children’s game that could represent the kind of society we live in today, “he added.
2. It all started in 2008
Dong-hyuk began to write the first draft of The Squid Game in 2008, long before some of his most successful films, such as Silenced and The Fortress. To do it, took as inspiration some sleeves what did you read, like Battle royale, As the Gods Will and Alice in borderland.
In many of those stories he read, there was something in common: people desperate for their financial problems, playing some survival game. Then he thought about what it would be like to bring that plot to reality in Korea, since at that time, he himself suffered from money problems. About the beginning of the series, he explained:
I was reading a lot of manga and comics, and I finished the script in 2009. At the time, it seemed very unfamiliar and violent. There were people who thought it was too complex and non-commercial. I couldn’t get enough investment and the casting was difficult. I got into it for about a year, but had to put it on hiatus at that point.
The creator of the series also shared how He was given creative freedom to work as he wanted thanks to Netflix, a company with which he began to collaborate in 2018.
3. ‘The Squid Game’ Isn’t Like Other Survival Shows
Despite some perceived similarities to other survival genre shows, The Squid Game has unique traits that distinguish it. In this regard, Hwang Dong-hyuk shared:
The essence of survival games is the level of entertainment that is seen through them and seeing how the participants fight to win these games. As for the differentiating factors, I would say the simplicity of the rules. Not much time or energy is wasted on understanding the rules; It’s very simple. Rather than the game itself, The Squid Game focuses on how they act and how they respond to what happens to them. Usually we look at the winners in survival games, but in The Squid Game, we see the losers. Without losers, there are no winners.
4. There are many memorable characters
With 456 participants, it is not surprising that there are very diverse characters and with different lifestyles.
Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) She is a divorced woman struggling with business failure and debt. Your friend from the neighborhood, Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), went to a prestigious university and works in an investment company, but ends up in a difficult situation. There is also Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon), a North Korean defector struggling to reunite her family. Other interesting characters include Deok-su (Heo Sung-tae), who is a gangster, and Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun), a police officer who discovers the games while searching for his missing brother.
5. Great symbolism, incredible sets and nostalgic music
Besides the entertainment factor, there is a lot of symbolism to appreciate. The entire series is an allegory intended to symbolize the competitive contemporary society in which we live.. The way humans change as adults through society is reflected in how innocent children’s games morph into something terrifying and deadly.
Also noteworthy are the detailed sets of the sets, as well as the fact that the director did not rely heavily on computer graphics, preferring to opt for realistic and large-scale decors.
Finally, music reflects what children listened to in the 70s and 80s, resulting in a nostalgic and familiar feeling. “We took some music from those days, and classical music that was popular back then was incorporated into the program. The music director is a genius, so I got a lot of help from him and we were able to experiment, “Dong-hyuk commented.
All of these attributes come together for an immersive and captivating experience, where what was once cute becomes terrifying.