Squid Game

20140114 Hwang Dong-hyuk

Squid Game dalgona cookies, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Triplecaña, 2021-10-21

Korean Play Ojingo (trimmed)

Squid Game logo (Korean)

Squid Game logo

Jung jaeil2

Squid Game is a South Korean survival drama television series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The series was released on Netflix on September 17, 2021. It quickly gained international popularity and became one of the most-watched series on the platform.

Plot[edit | edit source]

The series revolves around a contest where 456 players, all of whom are in deep financial debt, risk their lives to play a series of deadly children's games for a chance to win a ₩45.6 billion prize. The title of the series draws from a similarly named Korean children's game.

Main Characters[edit | edit source]

Seong Gi-hun (Player 456): A chauffeur and a gambling addict who lives with his mother and struggles to support his daughter.
Cho Sang-woo (Player 218): Gi-hun's childhood friend, a former head of an investment team at a securities company, who is wanted by the police for embezzling money.
Kang Sae-byeok (Player 067): A North Korean defector who enters the game to pay for a broker to find and retrieve her surviving family members.
Oh Il-nam (Player 001): An elderly man with a brain tumor who prefers playing the game to waiting to die in the outside world.
Jang Deok-su (Player 101): A gangster who enters the game to settle his massive gambling debts.
Abdul Ali (Player 199): A Pakistani migrant worker who joins the game to provide for his young family after his employer refuses to pay him for months.

Games[edit | edit source]

The games played in the series are based on traditional Korean children's games, but with deadly twists. Some of the games include:

Themes[edit | edit source]

Squid Game explores themes of economic disparity, class struggle, and the desperation that drives people to take extreme risks. It also critiques the capitalist society and the lengths to which people will go for money.

Production[edit | edit source]

The series was written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, who had conceived the idea based on his own economic struggles early in life, as well as the class disparity in South Korea. The production took over a decade to come to fruition, with Hwang facing numerous rejections before Netflix picked up the project.

Reception[edit | edit source]

Squid Game received critical acclaim for its acting, originality, and social commentary. It became a global phenomenon, sparking discussions about economic inequality and the human condition.