Russian Roulette scene from Squid Games

Russian Roulette scene from Squid Games

Squid Game (Korean: 오징어 게임; originally titled Round Six is a South Korean dystopian survival thriller horror television series created, written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk for Netflix. The series revolves around a secret contest where 456 players, all of whom are in deep financial hardship, risk their lives to play a series of deadly children's games for the chance to win a ₩45.6 billion (US$39.86 million) prize. The series' title draws from ojingeo ("squid"), a Korean children's game. Lee Jung-jae, who portrays series protagonist Seong Gi-hun, leads an ensemble cast.

Hwang conceived the idea based on his own economic struggles, as well as the class disparity in South Korea and capitalism.[11][12] Although he wrote the story in 2009, Hwang could not find a production company to fund the idea until Netflix took an interest around 2019 as part of a drive to expand their foreign programming offerings.