Squid Game Season 1 — Who can you trust when ₩45.6 billion is at stake?

Players in green tracksuits · Season 1 tug-of-war shoot · © Netflix · Official Tudum gallery

Squid Game Season 1 is a nine-episode survival thriller in which people in debt compete for a fortune through children’s games. Elimination means death, making alliances, betrayals and the contestants’ decisions central to the competition. Netflix series announcement

Spoiler guide · Covers the opening setup in Episodes 1–3 and the types of games. No final winner, character endings, or organizer reveal. The series contains blood, graphic violence, and sexual scenes.

Title

Squid Game

Coverage

Season 1 · 9 episodes

First released

September 17, 2021

Country · Genre

South Korea · Survival thriller

Writer · Director

Hwang Dong-hyuk

Principal cast

Lee Jung-jae · Park Hae-soo · Jung Ho-yeon

Where to watch

Official Netflix series page →

Information checked: October 28, 2026. Season 1 is available on Netflix’s combined series page. Streaming requires a subscription available in your region.

Contents

• A game for people who cannot afford to lose
• Different reasons to join the same team
• Children’s play spaces with lethal rules
• Watching Season 1 and the official trailer
• Reviews of the characters’ desperation and the games
• If you’re looking for similar stories

A game for people who cannot afford to lose

After losing his job and failing in business, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) lives with his mother while creditors pursue him. A stranger’s business card leads him to a competition with 455 other people who need money. There are 456 contestants and a ₩45.6 billion prize. Director interview and opening premise

When the first game reveals its lethal stakes, the contestants vote to stop and return to the outside world. Their debts and financial difficulties remain. The circumstances that bring people back despite the danger drive the competition that follows. Review of the opening developments

Young-hee and the contestants · The opening game · © Noh Juhan/Netflix · Official still source (ending spoilers)

Different reasons to join the same team

Gi-hun encounters childhood friend Sang-woo, North Korean defector Sae-byeok, Pakistani worker Ali and elderly contestant Il-nam. Their financial needs and ways of trusting others differ, so cooperation does not guarantee agreement. Characters and series background

Seong Gi-hun · Season 1 still
© Netflix · Image published by Radio Times

456

Seong Gi-hun Lee Jung-jae · Reckless, yet capable of kindness

Gi-hun approaches the elderly Il-nam and tries to look out for vulnerable players. That care for strangers contrasts with his irresponsible gambling with his mother’s money.

Cho Sang-woo · Season 1 still
© Netflix · Image published by Radio Times

218

Cho Sang-woo Park Hae-soo · The neighborhood’s former pride

Sang-woo, Gi-hun’s childhood friend, graduated from Seoul National University and worked at a securities firm. Once the neighborhood’s pride, he enters the games deeply in debt after trouble with investments and clients’ money. He calculates his chances while Gi-hun holds on to their old friendship.

Kang Sae-byeok · Season 1 still
© Netflix · Image published by Radio Times

067

Kang Sae-byeok Jung Ho-yeon · Trying to reunite her family

Sae-byeok, a North Korean defector, needs money to bring her brother out of a children’s home and reunite with her mother. She is wary of other players and reluctant to discuss her life.

Ali Abdul · Season 1 still
© Netflix · Image published by Radio Times

199

Ali Abdul Anupam Tripathi · A worker denied his wages

Ali, a worker from Pakistan, supports his family despite unpaid wages. He is physically strong and readily trusts people who help him.

Oh Il-nam · Season 1 still
© Netflix · Image published by Radio Times

001

Oh Il-nam O Yeong-su · An old man with familiar games

Il-nam is an elderly contestant with a brain tumor. Physical games put him at a disadvantage, but he remembers the games of his childhood. He grows close to Gi-hun and becomes his ally.

Alongside the contestants’ competition, police officer Hwang Jun-ho searches for his missing brother and investigates the facility. Character reference

Detective Hwang Jun-ho investigates the games · © Noh Juhan/Netflix · Official still source (ending spoilers)

Children’s play spaces with lethal rules

Red Light, Green Light and dalgona cutting use rules that are immediately understandable. Some tasks demand individual precision, while tug-of-war requires contestants to choose teammates. Netflix game guide·includes later-season spoilers

A fragile piece of dalgona · Behind the scenes · © Netflix · Official image source

Green tracksuits, pink-clad guards and pastel staircases recall childhood play spaces. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk explains that he chose familiar games audiences in other countries could understand, and drew on Escher for the stairs. The bright sets contrast with a competition in which lives are at stake. Cine21 director interview

Watching Season 1 and the official trailer

Season 1 is available through the Korean Netflix listing. This adult-oriented series includes graphic bloodshed, bodily injury and sexual scenes. The official Season 1 trailer below also contains violence. Netflix trailer announcement

Netflix official channel · No autoplay · Watch the trailer on YouTube ↗

Reviews of the characters’ desperation and the games

The Fangirl Verdict’s kfangurl understands the circumstances that bring contestants back despite the danger, and praises the character stories and detailed sets. She also finds the VIPs’ English dialogue and performances awkward. kfangurl·October 9, 2021·Full-series review·Ending spoilers

Cine21 critic Park Ji-hoon acknowledges the striking production design and the pull of the next episode, but finds the game-solving opportunities and the expression of individual abilities limited. He also argues that the emphasis on Gi-hun’s hardship weakens scrutiny of his wrongdoing. Park Ji-hoon·October 13, 2021·Critical essay·Ending spoilers

If you’re looking for similar stories

Alice in Borderland · Netflix — Young people stranded in a parallel Tokyo must survive deadly games. It is a companion for viewers drawn to Squid Game’s survival contests and the suspense of working out their rules.

Sources and image credits

Source set: official series information, director interviews, and two critical pieces. Each critic’s views are attributed individually.

1. Netflix: Season 1 release announcement · 2021.08.11.
2. Cine21, Lee Ju-hyeon: Squid Game through Hwang Dong-hyuk’s comments · 2021.09.17.
3. Netflix: Season 1 main trailer announcement · 2021.09.02.
4. The Fangirl Verdict, Review: Squid Game · October 9, 2021. Contains ending spoilers.
5. Character list · Cast, numbers, and family details. Includes later seasons and ending spoilers.
6. Netflix Tudum: game rules · Season 1 material used. The source also includes later-season spoilers.
7. Cine21, Park Ji-hoon: what Squid Game sidesteps, as Extracurricular did · October 13, 2021. Contains ending spoilers.
8. Newsis, Kim Ji-eun: interview with Hwang Dong-hyuk · 2021.09.28.

Images: Two behind-the-scenes photographs and two stills showing the game setting and Hwang Jun-ho come from Netflix Tudum. Five principal-character stills come from Radio Times’ Season 1 cast guide. Copyright belongs to Netflix and the respective rights holders. Each image includes a source link.

Video: Netflix’s official YouTube trailer, embedded in its player with autoplay off. No video file has been copied.

Sources checked: October 28, 2026.

OTT FAIR · Squid Game Season 1