‘Cute and murderous’: How Squid Game’s iconic killer doll came to life

Start With What You Know: Drawing From Personal Experience

The inspiration for Young-hee began close to home. Production designer Chae Kyoung-sun looked to her own daughter’s bowl cut and innocent expression when shaping the doll’s appearance. This personal touch grounded the character in authenticity, making her simultaneously familiar and unsettling. For freelancers, this highlights the value of drawing from lived experience when developing services or products. Your unique background—whether it’s managing projects in Lagos startups, teaching online from Abuja, or consulting for agribusinesses in Kaduna—can become the foundation of a distinctive offering. Authenticity builds trust faster than imitation ever could.

Consider how your personal journey shapes your professional perspective. Have you overcome barriers to enter your field? Do you bring insights from a specific industry or cultural context? These elements aren’t just biographical—they’re differentiators. When you frame your expertise through your own story, clients don’t just buy a service; they buy into a narrative they can relate to. That connection often proves more resilient than price-based competition in crowded marketplaces.

Simplicity With Purpose: Why Less Often Works Better

Young-hee’s design is deliberately minimal: an orange dress, a hair clip, and wide, expressive eyes. There are no elaborate costumes or complex backstories woven into her on-screen presence. Yet this simplicity makes her instantly recognisable and deeply memorable. The lesson for independent professionals is clear—clarity often outperforms complexity. Whether you’re crafting a portfolio, pitching a proposal, or defining your niche, stripping away excess helps your core value stand out.

Ask yourself: Can a potential client grasp what you offer in under ten seconds? If not, your message may be getting lost in detail. Freelancers who succeed globally often master the art of the concise elevator pitch—one that communicates who they help, how they help, and why it matters, all without jargon. Like Young-hee’s striking gaze, a clear professional focus draws attention and holds it.

Contrast Creates Impact: Leveraging the Unexpected

Part of Young-hee’s power lies in the contrast between her cute appearance and her lethal role. This dissonance creates intrigue and fuels discussion—exactly what made her a viral meme. For consultants and freelancers, embracing strategic contrast can similarly elevate visibility. This might mean pairing traditional expertise with unconventional delivery (e.g., a finance consultant using storytelling techniques), or offering serious solutions through approachable, human-centred communication.

In Nigeria’s growing gig economy, where platforms connect talent across Lagos, Port Harcourt, and beyond, standing out often requires more than competence—it demands memorability. Think about how your service surprises or delights in a positive way. Do you bring humour to technical training? Do you simplify complex regulations for small business owners with visual guides? When your approach challenges expectations pleasantly, you invite conversation—and conversation leads to opportunity.

Test, Adapt, and Evolve: The Importance of Iteration

Interestingly, Young-hee was initially conceived as genderless before evolving into the feminine figure we know today. Chul-su, her male counterpart, was drawn for the first season but held back until the second. This evolution shows that even successful concepts benefit from refinement and timing. Freelancers should view their offerings similarly—not as fixed products, but as prototypes ready for testing and improvement.

Launch a minimum viable version of your service. Gather feedback from early clients. Use that input to adjust your pricing, refine your process, or pivot your focus. Perhaps your initial idea for social media management works better when paired with content strategy, or your IT support finds greater demand in cybersecurity audits. Like the Squid Game designers, stay responsive to what resonates—not just what you assume will work.

Cultural Specificity Can Have Global Appeal

Young-hee’s roots trace back to primary school textbooks in South Korea—a deeply local reference. Yet her image travelled far beyond Seoul, resonating with audiences worldwide. This demonstrates that culturally specific ideas, when executed with authenticity, can achieve broad relevance. For Nigerian freelancers, this is an encouraging signal: your local context is not a limitation but a potential strength.

Whether you’re designing e-learning modules grounded in Nigerian case studies, offering HR consulting informed by local labour laws, or creating agtech solutions for smallholder farmers, your work carries inherent authenticity. When you present that specificity with clarity and confidence, international clients often see not niche expertise, but valuable perspective—one they can’t easily replicate elsewhere.

Timing and Readiness: Preparing for the Next Opportunity

The team behind Squid Game didn’t just create Young-hee for one season—they held onto Chul-su’s designs, ready for when the story called for him. This foresight speaks to the value of preparation. As a freelancer or consultant, your ‘off-season’ moments—between contracts, during quiet periods, or while upskilling—are ideal for developing future assets.

Use quieter times to build templates, draft proposals, learn new tools, or refine your brand voice. Perhaps you’ve been considering a course in data visualisation, or thinking about packaging your workshops into a reusable guide. Investing in readiness means when opportunity knocks—whether it’s a referral from a past client or a sudden spike in demand for your skill—you’re not starting from scratch. You’re prepared to respond with confidence.

What this means

Young-hee began as a sketch inspired by a child’s haircut and ended up as a global icon—proof that powerful impact often starts small, stays simple, and remains true to its origin. For freelancers and consultants navigating the demands of remote work, client acquisition, and skill development in Nigeria’s expanding gig economy and beyond, her story offers more than trivia. It reminds us that success doesn’t always require reinvention; sometimes, it comes from refining what’s already there, presenting it with clarity, and having the courage to let it stand out. By embracing authenticity, simplicity, and readiness, independent professionals can turn their own ‘Young-hee moments’ into sustainable careers—one thoughtful step at a time.