- A Korean man said he has received over 4,000 calls a day after his phone number was used on “Squid Game.”
- “Squid Game” is a new Netflix hit series about a deadly survival game based on kids’ games.
- The number was offered by a South Korean presidential candidate for $85,000.
A Korean man has reportedly been offered 100 million won (the equivalent of $85,000) by a South Korean presidential candidate in exchange for his phone number, which has been bombarded with calls after featuring in
Netflix
‘s new series “Squid Game.”
“Squid Game” is a fictional Korean drama series where contestants compete in a mysterious survival game, that turns childrens’ games into deadly traps, for the chance to win 45.6 billion won ($38.7 million). Variety reported that Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos told Vox Media’s Code Conference that the series has “a very good chance” of becoming Netflix’s most popular show yet after taking the top spot worldwide on the service.
Multiple characters receive business cards that contain an eight-digit number, which allows them to get involved in the survival game. An unnamed man living in Gyeonggi Province in South Korea told the broadcaster MBC (via South China Morning Post) that the phone number used in the show was his own and he was getting around 4,000 phone calls a day, from children who also “wanted to be in the game” unaware that it is fictional.
Youngkyu Park / Netflix
South China Morning Post also reported that South Korea’s National Revolutionary Party’s honorary chief, Huh Kyung-young said on Facebook: “I heard that the owner of the phone number showed on a business card in ‘Squid Game’ is suffering serious damage from prank calls. I would like to buy the number for 100 million won.”
SCMP notes that Huh is known for his eccentric campaign pledges, which also include giving 100 million won in relief funds to all adults as well as a 1.5 million won “monthly dividend.”
The phone number owner told MBC that, at first, he thought they were spam calls until he was told his number was shown on the Netflix series. He stated that he was receiving phone calls throughout the night and text messages as well as pictures. However, he was unable to change his number since he had been using it 10 years ago and it was tied with his business.
Hankook Ilbo, sister paper of the Korea Times, Netflix said the drama production company, Siren Pictures, is currently negotiating with the phone number owner to resolve the issue.
Insider reached out to Netflix for comments.