Squid Game: 12 Hidden Details You Definitely Missed
4. The Creepy Doll's Origin
Revealed in interviews with the cast and creators, and perhaps very much familiar to Korean viewers, is the "identity" of the iconic and terrifying doll in the Red Light Green Light portion of the Squid Game.
Apparently, in textbooks distributed in South Korean schools for many people growing up, there were two main "characters" represented by two pleasant looking children, a little boy and little girl. The little boy's name was Cheolsoo, and the little girl's name was Younghee. They're considered to be the South Korean equivalent of the American "Jack and Jill", just some stock children's names to teach young kids about basic educational concepts.
In line with the show's theme of taking innocent, even adorable children's imagery and turning them sinister, these characters, though mostly Younghee, were the basis for the Red Light Green Light doll.
Many international viewers assumed her song was unique to the show, but it's in fact the common children's chant attached to the South Korean version of the game, 무궁화 꽃 이 피었 습니다 or "Mugunghwa kkoci pieot seumnida", which literally means "Mugunghwa has bloomed". The Mugunghwa is the national flower of South Korea, its red centre like a traffic light.