A not so new idea
Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game’s creator, had the idea for this story more than 13 years ago, in 2008 to be exact. If he failed to find a buyer at the time, the deal was sealed with Netflix in 2019. The show’s success showed the platform it was a safe bet. Hwang Dong-hyuk was already imagining what a Battle Royale-like story, set in Korea with a real social aspect, could look like.
The choice of the squid game
If the series is called Squid Game and is inspired by the squid game, it is for two reasons: it was Hwang Dong-hyuk’s favorite game when he was a child, and he thinks that this game symbolizes the society in which we all live..
A candy expert
For the dalgona candy challenge, where they had to separate the shapes without breaking them, a real expert came to the set. He made dalgona candy for three days while many scenes were being shot. The smell of sugar filled the set for a few days.
An improvised scene
In the first episode, Gi-hun runs away and bumps into Sae-byeok head on. He then comes to his senses and gives him back his coffee. This was a completely improvised moment by Lee Jung-jae, with a little help from the director. We can even see Jung Ho-yeon hiding her laugh. They kept the scene in because it perfectly symbolizes Gi-hun’s character, and what he will do in the next part of the show.
Written as a movie
Originally, Hwagn Dong-huyk imagined Squid Game as a movie and not a series. When he had to think through his concept again and rewrote the story, he added elements that did not exist, such as Jun-ho’s cop character and his investigation on the games. A good thing for Wi Ha-joon, who plays the character.
Real phone numbers
To participate in the Squid Game and hopefully win the prize, you have to call a phone number. Unfortunately for some people in South Korea, these numbers are real, and people have received thousands of calls from fans, testing the numbers to see if they could actually reach someone. At the end, everything worked out and Netflix stated : "In collaboration with the production company, we have been working to resolve this issue, including editing scenes with phone numbers if necessary".