January19 , 2026

The Squid Game: From Tragedy to Cult

Related

Poland’s Catholic Football Pilgrimage: Unity, Faith and a Hard Line on Migration

At a Marian shrine where football supporters gather to pray, a presidential call for “Poland without illegal immigrants” turned a devotional event into a political stage.

AfDB Turns to Gulf as Western Funders Step Back

The African Development Bank has installed a president with ingrained Gulf experience as Washington pulls back hundreds of millions

Modern Toys, Old Childhood: Barbie and Lego at a Crossroads

As Mattel unveiled its first autistic Barbie yesterday, developed over 18 months with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, the $11.87 doll raised familiar questions about whether modern toys widen childhood or quietly narrow it.

Alps Without Snow: Winter Tourism Tries Reinvention

As Grandvalira in the Pyrenees postponed its late-November 2024 opening until mid-December, warm temperatures left slopes across France, Austria and Spain grassy well into the month, forcing managers to watch thermometers anxiously.

Iranian Heritage Under Threat From All Sides

As civil unrest spreads across Iranian cities in early January 2026 and President Trump renews warnings about military options, the country's 28 UNESCO World Heritage sites sit vulnerable to dangers from multiple directions.

Share

After the popular Korean drama “The Squid Gamehit the screens on Netflix, many users started arguing whether the movie was based on real events. Accusations centred on the locations and photo ‘evidence’ confirming the claims.

TV-Show Background 

In 2021, the Squid Game series gained immense popularity, becoming a worldwide phenomenon. This survival thriller takes viewers into a world where a group of people participate in deadly challenges based on childhood games… all for the chance to win a huge sum of money. 

Creator’s Response to the Images 

After the premiere of the second season, speculation began to circulate on social media that the plot was based on real events. People shared images on Tik Tok and Instagram, which they said confirmed the existence of such games.

However, the creator of the show, Hwang Dong Hyuk, himself denied these rumours, saying that the photos were generated through AI and that he himself got the ideas from his head. In an interview, Hwang Dong Hyuk told in detail about where he got the ideas for his script and how the show was created.

“The Squid Game” is not just about struggle. It is a story about people who, despite despair, retain their humanity.

Real-World Reflections on Inequality

“Squid Game” is inspired by traditional Korean games, and its dark plot is entirely fictional. It is an allegory created to show how cutthroat competition and inequality permeate every aspect of our lives.

Hwang Dong-hyuk manages to turn simple childhood games into a powerful metaphor for modern society, but none of the games in the series have a real-life counterpart.

Discussion in Other Countries

Meanwhile, in Russia, The Squid Game has also come under close scrutiny. State Duma deputy Yevgeny Marchenko proposed banning series that contain scenes of violence, saying that such works can cause serious harm to the mental health of children.

The series is also officially banned in North Korea. The country’s authorities criticise it for its depiction of a capitalist society and believe that it undermines local ideological foundations. In other countries, such as Spain, authorities have not imposed official bans on the series, but have called on parents to monitor their children so that they do not watch The Squid Game due to its violent content.

Despite numerous rumours and speculation, the creator of “Squid Game”, Hwang Dong Hyuk, confirmed that the plot is completely fictional and not based on real events. The photos that caused the discussions were found to be generated. The series remains an metaphor for modern social issues, and any claims that it is based on reality are false.

Stay tuned to Daily Euro Times for the latest insights!

Explore more articles:

Behind Bars: A Coup in the Making

Tech Titans: The US-China Rivalry Shaping Our Future

On Cloud Nine: Female Entrepreneurship in Dubai

Your Mirror to Europe and the Middle East.

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy