With the release of each season of Squid Game, the internet becomes flooded with claims linking the Netflix show with the true story of Brothers Home, an internment camp located in the city of Busan in South Korea.
In 2025, separating the truth from fiction can be a difficult task, and one made even harder by the emergence and prevalence of convincing artificial intelligence. By searching “real life Squid Game” on literally any social platform, you’ll see Brothers Home linked with the Netflix show time and time again. One particular post, which has racked up millions of views and likes, claimed the “real Squid Game” took place in a “bunker underground in no man’s land where people were held and had to complete several games to survive. The hosts with unhuman-like thoughts were never found.”
So, here’s what we know about Brothers Home and whether it was actually the real-world inspiration for director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Squid Game.
What was Brothers Home?
Brothers Home was essentially a concentration camp in South Korea where roughly 40,000 people were imprisoned under anti-vagrancy laws without trial, legal representation, or any due process. Soon enough, the camp became filled with “undesirables” such as orphans and those with mental health conditions as South Korean officials attempted to prove that their country was a “modern, developed state”, according to The Korea Times.
There were dozens of “welfare centers” around South Korea, but Brothers Home was certainly the most infamous as survivors reported being starved, raped, abused, tortured and enslaved. There are even reports of prisoners being forced to partake in playground-style games.
Though there are admittedly some similarities between Brothers Home and Squid Game, neither Netflix nor the director has confirmed a direct link.
Squid Game wasn’t inspired by Brothers Home, but it is a true story… kinda
Credit: Netflix
Squid Game and its many complexities are not inspired by one singular thing or moment in history, with director Hwang Dong-hyuk instead pulling from a number of sources.
Describing how financial issues had inspired some aspects of the show, he told The Guardian: “I read Battle Royal and Liar Game and other survival game comics. I related to the people in them, who were desperate for money and success.
“That was a low point in my life. If there was a survival game like these in reality, I wondered, would I join it to make money for my family? I realised that, since I was a film-maker, I could put my own touch to these kinds of stories so I started on the script.”
In an interview with Variety, he further highlighted Battle Royal and Liar Game as the inspiration behind Squid Game, adding: “I freely admit that I’ve had great inspiration from Japanese comics and animation over the years.”
So, you see, this is but another example of why you shouldn’t trust everything you read on the internet.
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Featured image by: Netflix
