On the eve of the release of the reality show Squid Game: The Challenge, some who missed the Netflix phenomenon on which it is based, the fictional Squid Game, are going back to watch it for the first time. You may be taken aback by the surreal locations in the show, such as the secluded island on which the games take place. What were all of the locations for Squid Game‘s first location?
As Netflix’s most-watched show of all time, worldwide, Squid Game has racked up an astounding 1.65 billion viewing hours within its first 28 days of release. The show follows financially destitute people living in South Korea, who are recruited by a mysterious organization for the chance to win a life-changing sum of money. Should a contestant win a series of children’s games, they will take home the grand prize. The only catch is, if you lose, you die.
Let’s take a look at all of Squid Game season 1’s filming locations, in the order in which we see them in the show.
Seoul and surrounding districts
Though the show boasts fantastical settings at times, such as on a mysterious island, and in a sprawling facility with architecture that resembles MC Escher drawings, the very first episode of the series is fairly grounded. Indeed, the early scenes of Lee Jung-jae’ Seong Gi-hun desperate existence in Seoul were filmed on location in the Korean capital and nearby locales, according to Condé Nast Traveller.
Gi-hun, a gambling addict who has become estranged from his daughter and ex-wife, finds his home specifically in the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood in the outskirts of the city, which is the real place where his home was filmed. Seoul’s city center also contains the Sangbong Intercity Bus Terminal, a location where multiple scenes from Squid Game took place, such as Gi-hun’s horserace betting shenanigans in Episode 1, as well as a moment when he returns home from the island after being dropped off at night in a later episode.
Other notable locations in Seoul include the underground platform in the Gangnam district’s Yangjae Citizen’s Forest Stations, where Gi-hun first participates in the game of Ddakji from the well-dressed man that lures him into the shady world of Squid Game, to begin with. The IFC Mall in Yeoi-dong is also the location of an important scene, in which Gi-hun gets the invitation card to meet the man behind the secretive organization.
Indoor sets in the city of Daejon
All of the games seen in Squid Game take place in an indoor confined space, including the sleeping quarters where the 456 contestants, dressed in green tracksuits, are monitored and sometimes physically punished or killed by soldiers in pink hooded jumpsuits and anonymizing helmets. These scenes were all filmed in Daejon in South Korea, on a series of sets built specifically for the show. That includes the winding hallways and staircases of the facility itself, the recreation of an old Korean neighborhood for the marbles game, the Red Light, Green Light playfield, and the glass stepping stone game arena.
The island of Seongapdo
For the show’s exterior scenes of the facility, that all takes place on an enigmatic island that we largely see being investigated by the undercover cop, Wi Ha-joon’s Hawang Jun-ho. Those scenes were all filmed on the island of Seongapdo, located off the coast of the Ongkin province. The island is largely uninhabited and without electricity, contributing further to the desolate feel in the show, despite the fact that some fishermen do live there.
