Squid Game was originally written in 2009 but rejected by producers for one reason

If you’re like anyone right now, you’ve spent the last few weeks binging Squid Game 2 in its entirety and are now sitting feeling empty inside. It’s like the perfect blend of horror, action and political commentary, but what you definitely didn’t know is that it took over a decade for the script to actually be accepted by a production team. The story of the Squid Game which was originally rejected in 2009 is a long and wild one.

Squid Game was inspired by true stories of poverty

via Netflix

Squid Game was inspired by true stories of poverty in South Korea, and even Gi-hun had a unique tale of his own. In an interview with RadioTimes, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk shared how real-life events, financial struggles, and nostalgic childhood games influenced his story.

Hwang explained how he wrote Squid Game back in 2009 but had to endure over a decade of rejection and being broke before his show took off. He even told RadioTimes that he had to sell his own laptop worth $675 to make ends meet while he was working on Squid Game.

Why was Squid Game rejected so many times?

In 2009, South Korea was already going through the SsangYong Motor labour strikes which resulted in a lot of violence between workers and the authorities. Because of this, many producers and TV companies thought it was “too violent” and “unrealistic” even though it was meant to be a commentary based on real events.

“I wanted the story to reflect the struggles of real-life characters we’ve all met,” Hwang explained.

What was it about 2020 that gave Squid Game success?

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Wait, is Squid Game based on a true story? All the real life inspiration explained

via Netflix

After so many rejections, Hwang had to “shelve” Squid Game and focus on other things. But interestingly enough, the pandemic instilled new societal chaos in the world and brought fresh relevance with its critique of the economy. The rich get richer, and the poor die—does that sound like any real-life events, you know?

Squid Game is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.