'Squid Game' a true story? Top conspiracies about the real-life 'inspirations' behind the Korean drama

'Squid Game', the hit Korean drama series that took the world by storm, may have ended with the death of Player 456, but the mystery surrounding the show, its origins has always been a topic of hot discussion. While creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has repeatedly clarified that the series is not based on a true story, its chilling themes linked to financial desperation have fuelled conspiracy theories and speculation about possible real-life inspirations.

Hwang, in a June 2025 interview with The New York Times, shared his interpretation of why the show resonated with such a wide global audience. "We touched something in the zeitgeist through Squid Game," he said, and added that framing inequality in society through children’s games made the story universally relatable, allowing audiences to connect with protagonist Seong Gi-hun.

The real strike that shaped Player 456

While much has been said and written about the show, the most popular link between Gi-hun’s backstory can be found in South Korea’s violent Ssangyong Motor Strike. Though 'Squid Game' was purely a work of fiction, show creator Hwang acknowledged drawing inspiration from the violent clashes that erupted after mass layoffs escalated into conflicts between the working class and authorities.

In a 2021 interview with Agence France-Presse, the director said, "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." Hwang further added that the theme of 'economic inequality' is common across cultures.

The Brothers Home

Another theory that gained traction online involves comparisons between the show’s brightly coloured, maze-like game facility and South Korea’s historical welfare detention centres, called the Brothers Home. As per reports, the now-infamous institution operated in Busan during the 1970s and 1980s.

Brothers Home was reportedly part of a state-backed programme intended to remove homeless people from the streets. While a noble initiative at first, it soon became a site of violence and abuse. Survivors have since told chilling tales of forced labour, kidnappings, sexual abuse and even cases of detainees being beaten to death or left to die from injuries.

Viral images of 'Squid Game' compound

Images claiming to show the interior of the inspiration for the 'Squid Game' house, with its bunkers and stairs, colour palette and long corridors, circulated widely on social media. However, according to Aljazeera, fact-checking organisations later confirmed that many of these images were AI-generated and not authentic historical photographs of what they descirbed as the Brothers Home.

The viral posts prompted some South Koreans agencies to step up and push back against the false allegations.

Inspiration behind the phenomenon

Despite the many wild fan theories, show creator Hwang did admit that his series drew its dystopian plot primarily from Japanese survival manga and films rather than historical events and dark chapters in human history. He went on to cite manga series like 'Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor', 'Liar Game' and 'As the Gods Will' as major influences.