Squid Game‘s Production Designer Explains Those Gift-Wrapped Coffins

Squid Game season two left fans with cliffhangers to ponder ahead of the impending season three, but one thing everyone can agree on is that the show’s look remains strikingly distinctive. Season two brought back the familiar bloodshed of “Red Light, Green Light,” but it also introduced several new games. This required the creation of new sets embodying the show’s signature aesthetic: a jarring blend of childlike whimsy and the chillingly macabre.

In a new “making-of” video released by Still Watching Netflix, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, stars including Lee Byung-hun (the Front Man), and behind-the-scenes creatives discuss how the life-or-death competitions came together this time around.

“Honestly, every time we went on set for each game, we were all speechless,” Lee recalls. “It was so grand and amazing, like stepping into another world. The patterns and decor felt straight out of a fairy tale, but the things happening in there were so brutal and ruthless. That contrast was really interesting. In a way, I think the mix of these beautiful spaces with such cruel events is what gives Squid Game its unique style and appeal.”

Production designer Chae Kyoung-sun, who won an Emmy for her work on Squid Game‘s first season, explains that’s exactly the feeling she and her team were going for. For the six-legged race, which incorporates multiple games as players hobble around rainbow-painted circles, she drew inspiration from school sports festivals—with details like the schoolhouse desks and chairs used by the guards.

“The director suggested creating two circles, and it got me thinking about the meaning of the rainbows. People say the path to heaven is decorated with rainbow colors. As you know, we wrapped the coffins like gifts. That was kind of a reflection of our tough, competitive reality in this world where so many people fail. People are tired of the harsh reality. So it was a way of wishing those who passed away a peaceful afterlife, where there would be no more pain. I think the rainbows share the same meaning as the coffins.”

Watch the full video below; it also shows how Squid Game actually made a giant merry-go-round (in a round room ringed with dozens of doors) for the agonizing “Mingle” game.

Squid Game seasons one and two are now streaming on Netflix; season three is coming later this year.

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