How much is Squid Games’ 45.6 billion dollar prize money won?

Some people would never put their lives on the line for money, but that’s exactly what happens in the hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” which returns for its second season on Dec. 26. In fact, 456 people decide to sign up for a series of games that turn out to be extremely deadly. Every time someone dies in the games, either from the games themselves or because they fail and are summarily executed, another 100,000,000 won is added to the prize pool, kept in a giant clear piggy bank suspended from the ceiling. Whoever wins also has 100,000,000 won on their head, which means the total prize for the survivor of the squid games is 45.6 billion won. It seems like an absolutely ridiculous amount of money, but how much is it exactly?

We know that the prize money would be enough for a person to completely start their life over and do pretty much whatever they want, join the wealthy elite and escape the conditions that forced them into the games in the first place. But how much is it in US currency, and is it really worth the horror of surviving the games knowing that 455 other desperate people died so you could get it?

In December 2024, 45.6 billion won is worth approximately 31.8 million US dollars, which is definitely life-changing money. Joining the millionaire class means leaving the struggles of working life behind forever, and for many of the competitors, it means escaping serious trouble. Contestants like Season 1’s Kang Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-Hyeon), who defected from North Korea with his younger brother, wanted to win the prize not only for a better life, but also to get his mother out of the totalitarian North. The stakes are impossibly high for everyone involved — it’s literally life or death — all for the budget of one episode of “Stranger Things.” Capitalism, baby!

For those of you not in the US, the prize is worth 25 million British pounds, 30.4 million euros, 45.2 million Canadian dollars and 50 million Australian dollars in some context. No matter where you live, it’s an absolutely huge prize. It raises the question of how much a single life is worth, since 100 million won is about 70 thousand USD, which just seems incredibly low. Then again, a life should be considered priceless, and that’s part of the point of the dang show. If only Netflix understood that and wasn’t out here making multiple seasons of an actual “Squid Game” game show and raking in the money while the creator of the South Korean drama made next to nothing. Life imitates art, I guess.

“Squid Game” Season 2 premieres on December 26, 2024 and will stream exclusively on Netflix.