People think they have found ‘the horrifying real life Squid Game’-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

Squid Game fans have uncovered the horrors of Korea’s ‘Auschwitz’ (Picture: No Ju-han/Netflix)

Squid Game has one of the most chilling premises of all time and now the internet is convinced it’s all true.

If you’ve been living under a rock, the Netflix show can be summed up as: masked VIPs deriving pleasure from watching struggling members of society getting killed off one by one playing children’s games for a life-changing cash prize.

It is intended as a blistering takedown of rampant capitalism and the perils of wealth inequality but people on TikTok believe the Korean drama is more than just a metaphor.

Several users, including @lilithroses, have complained Squid Game was inspired by the Brothers’ Home, an internment camp located in Busan, South Korea in the 70s and 80s.

Known as ‘Korea’s Auschwitz’, prisoners held hostage at the campsuffered the worst human rights abuses in the country, including torture and sexual violence.

Brothers Home was the biggest of 36 detention facilities to ‘cleanse’ society of those deemed ‘symbols of the poverty and disorder of cities’ as a ‘purification project’.

They believe the Korean drama may have drawn inspiration from the horrific ‘purification project’ (Picture: No Ju-han/Netflix)

Homeless people, disabled people and orphaned children were among those taken against their will, some for years an end, and subjected to abuse at the ‘concentration camp.’

Reports from the Brothers Home’s leadership state that a total of 513 inmates died bteween 1975 and 1986 although the real figure is thought to be much higher.

It was closed at the end of the 80s after a local prosecutor, who investigated the camp, ordered a raid.

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has never said if the horrific ‘cleansing’ project was an inspiration for the drama. However, he has previously said main character Gi-hun’s (Lee Jung-jae) backstory was inspired by true events.

Gi-hun entered the games in the first season after losing his job at a car firm (Picture: Netflix)

Gi-hun became a gambling addict after being laid off by Dragon Motors, because the owner could no longer pay their employees, after 16 years of service.

Struggling to find new work, Gi-hun turned to betting on horses and his huge debt to loan sharks resulted in him agreeing to join the games in an act of desparation.

In 2009, South Korean car manufacturer Ssangyong announced it would be laying off more than 2,600 employee – 40% of its work force – resulting in a violent 77 dayviolent occupation of the factory that ended in clashes between rioters and armed police.

Explaining why the riots were a reference for Squid Game, Dong-hyuk told AFP: ‘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.’

Squid Game is intended as a blistering takedown of wealth inequality (Picture: No Ju-han/Netflix)

The second season of Squid Game returned on Boxing Day and took its audience on a rollercoaster journey as Gi-hun re-entered the deadly game in an effort to seek revenge.

Days after the drama returned, it smashed a huge record by becoming Netflix’s first TV show to number one in all 93 countries where the streaming giant is available.

It will be returning for for a third and final season this year, and while the exact date has not been confirmed, fans claim it is June 27 after a Netflix leak.

Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.

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