Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s survival thriller series ‘Squid Game’ season 2 living up to its preceding installment in every way conceivable, we get complete entertainment and intrigue from all angles. From picking up right from where season 1 left off before fast-forwarding two years to seeing how Seong Gi-hun’s (Player 456) efforts to closing in on the game’s creators pan out, every moment is as enticing as ever. However, of course, there are some location details that catch our eye the most, especially in the time leading up to the game and its arena, making us wonder wheather they are indeed real places or not.
Pink Motel is a Fictional Abandoned Establishment in Seoul
Pink Motel is Seong Gi-hun’s hideout and the base of his operations, and it plays a significant role in the initial episodes as the former winner plans a way to shut down Squid Game for good. This multi-story building has several empty rooms, yet he doesn’t even need to rent them out so as to afford his plan of action because he has already won ₩45.6 billion. Therefore, to steer potential patrons away, he always keeps all the lights off and works either in darkness or behind curtains. He even knocked down walls on the fourth floor to create a shooting range while keeping one room for himself. As for all the others on the different floors, he left them as they were.
However, it’s imperative to note that this Pink Motel appears to just be a set carefully designed for the show rather than an actual running business in Seoul, South Korea. There is an active Pink Motel in the nation, but it is in Daegu (193 miles away from Seoul), and it is drastically different from the establishment we see on our screens – this motel is at 11-15 at Horim-dong, Dalseo-gu. The latter is actually a 2-star place that is conveniently situated in the heart of the city for travelers from all walks of life, meaning it gives them the ability to easily access public transport and local attractions in any way they see fit.
Club HDH Seems to be Paying Homage to Squid Game’s Creator
If there’s one thing absolutely no fan can deny, it’s that Club HDH stood out above everything else in this original production simply because of its design. After all, although the show is internationally renowned and often features establishments with names in both English and Korean, Club HDH had no trace of Korean anywhere. Instead, its hoarding simply read Club HDH Hip-Hop Club and Noise Basement, as seen below, with a long line of local Korean patrons standing outside awaiting entry.
The fact this club is the place where Seong Gi-hun met with the people working behind the scenes at Squid Game for the first time in two years is also significant. However, because no such club exists in Seoul or anywhere in Korea for that matter, we believe its name was specially chosen to pay homage to the series’ brilliant creator and director, Hwang Dong-hyuk. He is the mastermind behind this original production, which is why he was even named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2022.
Furthermore, since the premiere of ‘Squid Game’ in 2021, Hwang Dong-hyuk has even won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and received the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit from President Yoon Suk-yeol in his homeland. The latter is actually the highest honor one can receive in Korea with respect to their contribution to culture and arts. So, even though the creator himself hasn’t confirmed or denied anything as of writing, despite several interviews about season 2, we believe Club HDH is an Easter Egg paying homage to him.
Read More: Squid Game Season 2 Mid-Credits Scene: Why is There a Second Doll? Who Are the Players?
