As Squid Game continues to set records for Netflix and become a global juggernaut, it’s not only putting up big numbers for the streaming service, but also a South Korean candy maker who’s watched his business double thanks to the show.
Without getting into spoilers, during the third episode of the show a candy treat called “dalgona” is featured prominently as the Squid Game contestants are forced to successfully complete a childhood game involving the candy. A shape is etched into every circular dalgona candy, and the trick is to very carefully carve out the shape without breaking the candy. It sounds easy, but dalgonas are ridiculously brittle, which is where the challenge comes in. Even more challenging is keeping up with the demand for the candy that’s skyrocketed thanks to the show’s success.
Back in June 2020, Seoul candy maker An Yong-hui made the actual candies used in the filming of Squid Game, 700 pieces to be exact, and now it’s made his candy kitchen a hot spot for fans of the Netflix series. Via Reuters:
As the show’s popularity has surged since its premiere last month, An hasn’t been able to go home for a week in order to meet the demand from eager “Squid Game” fans that start queuing up outside his 2-square-metre (2.4 square yards) street kitchen at 11 a.m.
He now sells more than 500 dalgonas a day, from less than 200 before the show’s premiere.
Just to put Squid Game‘s success into perspective, the show has been so heavily streamed that a South Korean internet provider is suing Netflix for creating an unprecedented surge in broadband use. Bridgerton was a huge hit, but not “cripple an entire ISP” huge. Who knew calamari-based dramas were the secret sauce that streaming viewers were hungry for?
(Via Reuters)
