Squid Game creator finally reveals inspiration for Gi-hun’s red hair

One of the biggest questions ahead of Squid Game Season 2 is why Gi-hun ended up with red hair. Its meaning has already been teased – but now we know its official inspiration.

In the final moments of Squid Game Season 1, we follow Gi-hun at the airport after being given another ddakji (the card) from the guy who originally recruited him to the games. But this time in the Netflix drama, he’s sporting now infamous red hair.

According to series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, the inspiration came from an unexpected place. “The red hair of Seong Gi-hun at the end of Season 1, I got it from my favorite comic book Slam Dunk,” he stated at a press conference with Lucca Comics.

“I don’t know the Japanese name, but he had red hair, so I got the idea from that character,” he continued. “That’s the symbol of not being normal anymore, he’s not an ordinary man. He’s been through those cruel games and experiences, he’s lost a lot of friends and people, so he’s trying to get back to normal life but he cannot. That red hair is like a symbol of his abnormal.”

Netflix

The director already touched on Gi-hun’s hair change back in 2021. Speaking to Zapzee, he explained: “I thought about this intuitively…. thinking about how Gi-hun should change his hair in a hair salon. I imagined being him and thought to myself, ‘What is the color that you would never choose to dye your hair?’

“Then I came to the conclusion that Gi-hun would never dye his hair red. It would be the craziest thing for him to do. So I chose the color and I thought it really showed his inner anger.”

However, early Squid Game Season 2 teasers hinted that Gi-hun’s hair will change back as the binge-worthy TV show progresses.

It’s not clear when this will be, but as he’s heading back inside the games arena to try and take it down from the inside, we should get an answer sooner rather than later.

Squid Game Season 2 hits the streaming service on December 26. In the meantime, catch up with why David Fincher needs to finish Mindhunter before Squid Game America, alongside shows to watch if you enjoyed Squid Game: The Challenge. You can also check out more TV shows streaming this month.