South Korean writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk made the facile comparison in an interview with Indiewire.
Hwang announced that his inspiration for the dystopian show came from many real-world events, like the implosion of Lehman Bros. in 2008, the rise of social media monsters, and the cryptocurrency boom.
"Then Donald Trump became the president of the United States and I think he kind of resembles one of the VIPs in the Squid Game," he announced, speaking through a translator.
"It's almost like he's running a game show, not a country, like giving people horror. After all these issues happened, I thought it was about time that this show went out into the world."
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Squid Game, which Netflix made available last month, follows a collection of debt-burdened South Koreans who agree to engage in a strange game in the hopes of winning a sizable monetary prize. Though, they soon realized that losing ends in their death, with the prize growing with each round.
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The "VIP" villains, who arrive in the show's seventh episode, are rich foreigners who watch the game from behind anonymous masks. In the Indiewire interview, Hwang didn't explain which of the VIP's he thought resembled Trump.
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Squid Game has grown to be one of Netflix's most talked-about new shows and is thought to be one of the streamer's most-watched series. The show has further been a smash hit in its native South Korea, where it has struck a chord for the way it represents economic disparity and the influence of the ultra-rich.
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The creator, who further directed every episode, stressed that the concept became more and more relevant over time as Netflix's limitations to experiment with more creative endeavors broadened.
"The concept itself was not realistic at the time 10 years ago. It was too bizarre and people thought it wouldn't be a money-making film, also because it was violent and there would be some issue with ratings and the target audience would shrink," Dong-hyuk announced. "But 10 years had passed and for Netflix, their distribution system is different from films; they have less restrictions, so I could go about my own way of making this film and I felt less pressure about these issues."
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It seems Dong-hyuk was correct about the relevancy of "Squid Game" not just in South Korea but also throughout the world. The TV show was lately heralded by Netflix boss Ted Sarandos as the most popular show on the platform, even beyond former hits like "House of Cards" and "The Crown." While those shows were profitable for the streaming giant in its home country of the United States, "Squid Game" is topping the charts around the world.
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