Squid Game – A Brilliant Study in Human Nature

What can Netflix’s No. 1 drama teach us about being better humans?

Netflix certainly outdid itself this time.

I was close to becoming one of the half a million subscribers out of its 209 million global base to not renew my subscription when I thought I’d give one last show a try. And boy, what a breathtaking masterpiece it was.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll be aware of the show that everyone has been talking about — Squid Game. The South Korean drama is about to become the most-watched original Netflix series in the world.

The reason it has resonated with so many is that it’s not based on some fantasy or future dystopian world like the Hunger Games instead, it’s based in the present. The world today in Seoul and a real-world problem experienced by many ordinary humans — lack of money.

This article contains some major spoilers so please step away if you are yet to see the show and re-visit after.

What is Squid Game About?

Den of Geek summarises this beautifully:

People are thrown into an artificial arena where they must fight for their lives.

…..the arena is a massive, secret compound; the competition is a series of children’s games and the people are 456 contestants who desperately need the ₩45.6billion ($39 million) prize money more than they need the illusion of safety the outside world periodically provides.

Some competitors, like central protagonist Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), have fallen into debt, compounded by a gambling addiction and a loan shark looking to collect. Others, like Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) — a North Korean defector trying to help her parents escape to the south — need it to reunite their family.

All have been carefully chosen by the game’s masked, seemingly unfeeling minder because they feel the chance at the prize money is worth more than their own lives.

The contestants participate in a series of childhood games — not video games, but old school games with real people, played outdoors — if they win they progress to the next round and if they lose they are shot dead.

Watching the various human reactions that arise under desperate, high stakes, life-threatening circumstances whilst playing the children’s games was truly fascinating.

So what can we learn from their experiences?

When You Are at Your Most Vulnerable Is When the Vultures Start Circling

Gi-hun, the main character, is deeply in debt. He has lost his job, lives with his mother, is divorced, and can’t even afford to buy his daughter a birthday present. His childhood friend, Sang-woo, a smart student who studied at Seoul National University, is now wanted by the police for stealing money from his clients in an investment firm.

Both, burdened by the weight of their debts, get approached by a Squid Game poacher, promising hefty prize money to play some simple childhood games. Had they not been in these vulnerable positions they would have not felt the need to participate.

So desperate was their need for money and better life than when given the chance to leave the game, having full knowledge of the consequences, they both decide to return.

Why? Because life outside in the real world for them was not much better than inside. What did they have to lose?

Build your self-esteem

Having a strong sense of your self-worth enables you to navigate life’s difficult situations through less fog and with more clarity.

Hopefully, none of us are ever going to be invited to play a game of life or death but we have all, at one time or another, fallen prey to the dark side of human nature. Taken that blood-sucking job to pay our bills, enrolled into that self-development class to make our dream car miraculously appear from hot air, and paid for that psychic to find us the love of our life.

We do this because we don’t have faith in ourselves and our abilities to build a better future. No one is going to come and hand you a card to participate in the lottery of life or death, it’s up to you to get out there and create the life you want.

Before making important life decisions take a moment to check in with yourself and become aware of how you’re feeling.

• Are you feeling sorry for yourself and in a vulnerable position where you’ll accept any offer that comes to you?
• Do you need to take a step back and reevaluate other options that might be available?
• What can you change internally to become more resilient?

Always Follow Your Moral Compass

Although everyone’s moral compass is different, deep down inside we know when we are in the wrong and the right.

Throughout the game, Gi-hun was somehow able to maintain his sense of humanity. Knowing that Sang-woo was clued on about the difficulty of the Dalgona (honeycomb-like flat candy) shapes game, he chose to forgive him. Even in the final game, when it’s down to both of them for the prize money, Gi-hun chose to give up his chances of winning than kill a friend.

No matter how tough the situation got, and it was pretty grim inside the compound, Gi-hun stuck by his morals and values till the end.

Know your values

Without knowing your values and beliefs you’ll zig-zag through life and its toughest situations. Identify your values and makes these your north star.

Tony Robbins has a great exercise to help you identify these.

Money Should Not Be Your Primary Motivator

The $39million prize draw is enough to make anyone salivate, but surely not when it’s at the expense of your life?

A year after returning home, Gi-hun doesn’t spend his prize money and is hounded by the banks to help him invest it. His mother has passed away and he’s turned into a recluse.

We’ve all been persuaded by the dangling carrot of a job offer with amazing benefits, bonuses, and paying a lot more than our current situation. But after accepting these too-good-to-be-true offers you realize they come at the expense of your mental health or time away from those you love. Is it all worth it?

What are you willing to give up for money?

In any situation, you face when motivated by money try and find a balance between needing money and what you are willing to give up for it.

Is it better to take a high-paying job for now which could mean more time with your family later? Or is it better to take a low-paying job to reduce the impact of stress on your body?

The same goes for following your passion. We often hear that you should not focus on stats or money when starting out in writing or any creative endeavor. First, become a good writer, and then the money will follow. Even YouTubers don’t start monetizing until they have 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of content watched.

Try and take a holistic approach to the financial choices you make in your life and don’t be blinded by the promises of bright shiny objects. At times, when you get to your final destination after all your hard work, you realize that it was never worth the sacrifices you gave up for it.

Final Thoughts

TV shows and movies that leave you wondering for days after they have ended are just the best. I still have not been able to stop thinking about the choices I would have made had I have been in any of the contestant‘s shoes.

I had the following takeaways:

• Build your sense of self-worth constantly — this will help you navigate the tough times with more clarity
• Money is not evil, it can buy you experiences and fulfillment — just make sure it’s not earned at the expense of your life
• Know your values and stick by them no matter what

I’d love to hear your takeaways from the show and whether it also left you pondering days after it ended.