‘SQUID GAME’ PHENOMENON & TRADITIONAL GAMES

[Anchor Lead]

The global popularity of “Squid Game” has sparked huge interest about Korean culture among Americans. The traditional games that appeared in the series have become an important means to introduce them to Korea.

[Pkg]

[Soundbite] "Green light, red light."

Just watching a crowd of people moving and then stopping is fun. Players are frustrated as ddakji pieces don’t seem to budge at all from the pavement. But they soon focus on chipping off the pieces from the sweet honeycomb candies. The Korean games that appeared on “Squid Game” were played during the Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles. Roughly 500 people participated in this side event, promoting Korean culture.

[Soundbite] Steven Bricks (Participant）

People were already familiar with the games from watching the show so the event ended up resembling a local Korean festival.

[Soundbite] HyuneeEats (YouTuber）

The first place winner gets 456 dollars, but the players put everything they have as if 45.6 billion won is on the line. They played the games shown in the drama up until the final round. But the winner was decided by the Korean traditional game of jegi-chagi.

[Soundbite] Brianna Jodall/Winner

Squid Game with a tour package to Jejudo Island as the top prize was held in downtown LA on Sunday. Jejudo was mentioned in the drama as the Hawaii of Korea. This event was organized to create more buzz for the island. The global success of “Squid Game” has sparked curiosity about Korean culture. Traditional Korean games are doing well in serving as a cultural ambassador.