Netflix announced plans for the series in September 2019, and it was initially called “Round Six.” During the press conference for Squid Game, Director Hwang Dong-Huk shared that he first wrote the script in 2008. We have curated some best Squid Game facts that will blow your mind.
Back in 2008, Director Hwang was in debt, just like the 456 participants of Squid Game. It led him to think, “If there were a game like this, I would have participated in it.”
The script for Squid Game completed in 2009. However, it was difficult to attract investors and actors because 12 years ago, the genre and plot of Squid Game were considered brutal and unconventional. Below we have listed some of the fantastic facts about Squid Game that you eagerly wanted to know.
This collaboration with Netflix was creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s first time working with an international entertainment company.
Amazing Squid Game Facts That Makes Creator A Mastermind
- Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk originally came up with the idea for the show in 2008, when he was in a lot of debt and his family was struggling financially.
- The script initially took a year to write, but it was rejected everywhere until being picked up by Netflix 10 years later, in 2019.
- Hwang originally wrote it as a movie, and when he decided to turn it into the series, he fleshed out the games more and added characters like Jun-ho, who wasn’t in the first draft.
- Hwang says the title and critical game inspired by the real squid game, his favorite thing to play as a child. He chose it because he felt that it symbolizes society.
- Hwang had Lee Jung-Jae and Park Hae-soo in mind for the roles of Gi-hun and Sang-woo from the start — but for functions like Sae-byeok, Il-nam, and Ali, he deliberately searched for actors.
- He says casting Sae-byeok was difficult, but as soon as he saw the audition tape of Jung Ho-Yeon — who was working in New York as a model at the time.
- Ji-young was initially been a boy, but Hwang changed the character to be a girl. He intended to explore the bond between two women, which is apparent when she and Sae-byeok immediately connect.
- The giant doll from “Red Light, Green Light” is based on iconic character illustrations from children’s textbooks in the ’70s and ’80s.
- For the Dalgona Challenge, the crew brought in an expert to make real Dalgona coffee for three days while filming took place — meaning the set smelled like sugar.
- The playground set was made HUGE to resemble how natural playgrounds feel so big when you’re a kid.
- To film the tug-of-war scene, a machine used to “tug” on the other side of the rope, which the actors say made it difficult and exhausting.
- The set for the glass stepping stones game was over a meter above the ground, which made the cast genuinely scared.
- The dorm designed to look like a warehouse, highlighting that humans got treated as objects.
- The coffins were shaped like gift boxes to signify how the creator of the game felt as though he was a god, giving contestants a gift even in death.
- Art director Chae Kyung-sun was inspired by fencing masks and traditional Korean shows called Haehotal for the staff’s covers.
- The design of the room with the incinerators got modeled after the Auschwitz concentration camp.
- Lee Jung-Jae worked closely with Hwang onset to enhance Gi-hun’s characterization and make sure he was likable. For example, the moment in Episode 1 where he runs into Sae-byeok and pauses to pick up her coffee was improvised.
- Filming wrapped in November 2020.
- If there is a Season 2 of Squid Game, Hwang says it will explore the story of the Front Man.
- “Squid Game” initially meant to be a movie.
Wrapping Up
The Squid Game is breaking all the records with growing chatter about the TV show. The fans are now hoping for a second season of the Squid Game soon. If you know any of the facts before then, do let us know in the comments.
