Is Squid Game based on a true story?
This is how it really is
Some series have such bizarre storylines that you can't help but wonder where the creators got their inspiration from. If there is one title we would really like to know about, it is ‘Squid Game’; to come up with that, you must have a rich imagination. Right? TikTok is now convinced that the director didn't come up with much himself, as the series is said to be based on the true (and gruesome) story of The Brothers Home. This is how it really is.
The Brothers Home
The Brothers Home was established in 1976 by the South Korean government. It was intended as a ‘welfare center’ to provide shelter for the homeless, but it soon became clear that very different things were happening. In reality, random people were arrested and accused of crimes they had nothing to do with. With the Asian Games of 1986 and the Olympic Games of 1988 on the horizon, The Brothers Home was used more and more. The streets had to be cleaned up, and therefore everyone who was drunk or wandering around without valid ID was arrested. Children who roamed without parents were also taken. Prisoners received a blue tracksuit with their own number, which really does remind one of the outfits in ‘Squid Game’. But the similarities go further. Everyone in the house was divided into squads, and these groups had to compete against each other in ‘games’. Those who did not want to listen or failed received severe punishments, sometimes even resulting in death. In 1987, after investigations, The Brothers Home came to an end, but it was not until 2022 that the extent of the impact became clear. With at least 657 deaths, it is still seen as one of the worst human rights violations in the history of South Korea.
What do the creators say?
Although the tracksuits and the ‘games’ from the series do resemble those of The Brothers Home quite a bit, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk has never mentioned the camp as one of his sources of inspiration. In various interviews, he stated that ‘Squid Game’ is not based on true events, but that there are some references to the South Korean society. According to Dong-hyuk, the story of Gi-hun is based on the strikes of the car brand Ssangyong and his own experiences with financial problems. He was also inspired by various Japanese comics. “I started to wonder how I would feel if I participated in the games myself. But I found the games too complex, and for my own work, I focused instead on using children's games.”
Evidence on social media
Despite the fact that the creators have never spoken about The Brothers Home, people on social media remain convinced that the storyline does come from there. Photos from inside the camp go viral; and they do look very much like the iconic pink stairs from the series. You would think: how much evidence is still needed? Yet, it turns out that the link is not entirely correct. The photos were created with AI by online artist Efe Levent and posted on Instagram. Many people still believe that the images are indeed real.
Despite various similarities, it really seems that the series has nothing to do with The Brothers Home; and that might be for the best. The second season of ‘Squid Game’ is now available on Netflix. And, good news: a third season is already in the works.
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Image: Netflix
