Is Squid Game based on a true story? Answer explored in depth

Squid Game has become a worldwide hit because it's got a bit of everything to keep you on the edge of your seat—intense games that make you gasp, a sharp look at society that makes you think, and a story of desperation that feels all too real. Even though the games are fictional, the hardships and stories of the Squid Game characters, especially Gi-hun, are based on real issues.

Back in 2021, the person who came up with the idea for Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk, told everyone that Gi-hun's journey was inspired by something that happened in 2009 in South Korea. It was called the Ssangyong Motor Strike. More than 2,600 people lost their jobs, and the workers went on a protest.

And then there's Ali, the character from Pakistan. Hwang made sure to include his own experiences of being treated unfairly when he was living in another country. So, not only do we get to see these crazy games on the show, but we also get a peek at some serious issues that people face every day.

The real-life Ssangyong Motor strike and Gi-hun’s story on Squid Game

Gi-hun's story in Squid Game hits home for a lot of people because it reflects the hard times that laid-off workers went through during the Ssangyong Motor Strike back in 2009. After 16 years of hard work at a place that was Ssangyong in the show, this man suddenly finds himself unemployed and in debt.

It's a sad reality that was inspired by what happened in Pyongtaek, where they let go of a huge chunk of their workers, about 2,646 people, which was a massive 43% of their workforce.

The workers who got the boot didn't just sit around feeling sorry for themselves, though. They put up a strong fight, with a 77-day sit-in protest that went down in the history books as one of South Korea's biggest and toughest labor battles.

Squid Game's creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, talked about this, saying that this situation played a big part in shaping Gi-hun's journey in the show. He explained

“Through the reference to the Ssangyong Motor layoffs, I wanted to show that any ordinary middle-class person in the world we live in today can fall to the bottom of the economic ladder overnight.”

This show hit when it talked about the unfairness of how money is spread out. Everyone could see themselves in the main guy, Gi-hun, because his story was similar to what so many people have gone through.

It showed us how easy it is to fall behind and have a hard time making ends meet, especially when the whole system seems to be working against us.

Was the Brothers Home a real-life version of Squid Game?

Although Squid Game is a made-up story, it's easy to see some really scary similarities between it and what happened at the Brothers Home, a place in Busan during the 1970s and 1980s. This place, which was supposed to be a haven for people, was actually like a prison where thousands suffered from hard work and beatings and were treated terribly. They even called these terrible things "games," which makes it sound like something out of a nightmare.

Under the rule of Chun Doo-hwan, the government set up these places to supposedly "purify the streets" before big events like the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

People who lived through it have talked about the unbelievable pain they suffered, with punishments that were called "games" but were really just cruel, like the "Hiroshima game," where folks were strung upside down and hit. This shows a grim part of Korea's past where the government didn't care much for people.

In these places, if someone didn't do as they were told or tried to run away, they'd face harsh punishments, sometimes even getting killed. This sad history is a lot like what happens in the Squid Game show, where people are forced to play twisted games. It shows us how unfair systems can keep people down and how those in charge can take advantage of them.

The role of privilege and survival manga in Hwang’s vision for Squid Game

Hwang Dong-hyuk's battles and the culture around him had a big hand in creating Squid Game. Back in 2008, he was dealing with money troubles and had to borrow cash from his mom and grandma. During those tough times, he got into Japanese comics about people trying to survive, called survival mangas.

These stories, which are intense and show how desperate people can get, gave him the idea to write the first version of Squid Game. The show is good at reflecting the differences between people who have a lot and those who don't, and sometimes it can be rather harsh.

These VIPs, the rich folks who watch the life-threatening games like it's just another TV show, show us how out of touch the upper class can be with the hardships that other people face. Hwang points out how unfair the world can be with money and power, and that sometimes, you have to do questionable things to make it through.