The scenography of Squid Game 2

A global phenomenon. Yes, when the first season of Squid Gamethree years ago now, the whole world sided in favor of TV seriescalling it the most watched cult K-drama in the history of the Korean small screen. Of course, the frighteningly imaginative plot is the cause of its success, but the set design is no different. Facing worldwide acclaim, the scenography of the scenes written and directed by the director Hwang Dong-hyuk they helped create a fairy-tale space, as perfect as it was fearsome, which went around the world declaring itself faithful to the art of MC Escher and to the architecture of Ricardo Bofill. Two great inspirations. Squid Game 2scheduled from December 26 on Netflixrelaunch. Where are the games taking place this time? One might say that the rehearsals are staged on an island far from the coast. And that's exactly how it is in fiction. But there is no exact address. In reality, however, you don't need a boat to reach the games, because they are set in a complex Daejeonthe capital of the province of Chungcheong Meridionale in South Korea.

Then the scenography is the work of a completed work indoor. All you have to do is move away from Seoul for about an hour to finally come across the recording and film studio of all South Korea: it is the Studio Cube. Then, from the labyrinth of stairs to the island the step (of the cameras) is short. Yes, the pastel pink staircase is (still) the one inspired by the visual world of MC Escher, but in the second season it is bigger. It looks like a 9 meter structure made of a succession of pointed corners. And it has a specific task: to confuse. “This is how it all begins,” she said production designer Chae Kyoung-sunsharing that the maze of stairs was the first set she designed (and won her an Emmy Award). There are neither entrances nor exits, or, in short, those that are confusing to us. “It's normal to be disoriented,” Chae added. “When director Hwang Dong-hyuk saw the set for the first time, he said: where is the exit? I wanted people to get lost, to not be able to get out.” Whoever stands on the steps is alive, because only those who survive the tests can return to the dormitory. Thus, the themes of the TV series are also reflected in the set design. Moreover, the scale is always a great metaphor.

The dormitory was (re)built in Studio C and materializes in a 2235 square meter prison covered in tiles and with a single half-dome entrance. To create this entrance, the production designer was inspired by the sensation of driving through a series of very long tunnels, leaving the darkness behind without any reference. Beyond the threshold, the bunk beds host the game's competitors (in the opening scenes there are 456). Outside the dormitory, there is a huge mosaic of tiles on the wall, the tiles bear a message in Latin which reads Hodie Mihi Cras Tibi: literally, “today it's my turn, tomorrow it's your turn”. Thus, the entire scenographic project is built, which is a fundamental part (also) of the plot of the TV series.