It was only a matter of time before a real life Squid Game became a reality, which is actually what happened recently in Abu Dhabi. The South Korean survival drama, Squid Game, centers on 456 people who compete in a life-or-death series of children's games, all for the chance to win a hefty cash prize. The Netflix show first premiered worldwide on the streaming service back in September of this year, and it quickly took the world by storm.
Within the first week of its release, Squid Game sailed past the title of the most-watched Netflix program in several regional markets. Going further, the show attracted over 111 million viewers within its first 28 days of release, surpassing the network's most-watched series at the time, Bridgerton. Squid Game attracted so many viewers that a South Korean based internet service provider sued Netflix due to the massive increase in traffic. The series has also received near universal critical acclaim, earning a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Furthermore, to say Squid Game has become a cultural phenomenon would be an understatement.
Due to the show's massive success, the Korean Culture Center in Abu Dhabi turned Squid Game into reality, at least without the murder. The event took place on Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates in two different sessions. It saw two teams of 15 compete in challenges from the series that included red light green light, Dalgona candy challenge, and the paper-flipping games, Marbles and Ddakji. While the posting on the website did mention a cash prize, it wasn't clear how much was won, however, it's doubtful it was the life-changing amount from the Netflix show.
During the event, both sets of teams wore T-shirts featuring the show's logo. The event's staff, on the other hand, donned the pink circle triangle costumes resembling the guard's jumpsuits worn during the Squid Game death games. Unlike the series, the Abu Dhabi event obviously did not include any violence or bloodshed. However, this wasn't the first time Squid Game was played in real life. Earlier this month, children at a school in Belgium played the red light green light challenge (after binge-watching the 18 and up show), which did result in bloodshed when the children beat up the kids who lost.
Given the show's massive popularity, this is most definitely not the last time Squid Game will be played in real life. Considering how popular the show's jumpsuits are for Halloween 2021, the series' influence will continue throughout pop culture. Fortunately, the event in Abu Dhabi did not result in violence, which means more imitation games are likely to sprout up in the coming months. Just don't expect any life-changing cash prizes.
Source: Korean Culture Center