A story of people who fail at life for various reasons, but suddenly receive a mysterious invitation to participate in a survival game to win more than 38 million US dollars. The game takes place on an isolated island and the participants are locked up until there is a final winner. The story incorporates popular Korean childrens games from the 1970s and 1980s, such as squid game, the literal translation of its Korean name, which is a type of tag where offense and defense use a squid-shaped board drawn in the dirt.