South Korean Man Enters His Own Living Hell After Thousands Of ‘Squid Game’ Fans Spot Tiny Detail

Squid Game phone number owner harassed

Netflix


  • A man in South Korea has received thousands of calls after his phone number appeared in Squid Game
  • The man shares his number with the one on the business card prospective players receive
  • Read about other Netflix projects here

Earlier this week, Netflix pulled back the curtain to provide us with a fairly rare look at internal numbers concerning its most popular original projects. The metrics used to put that list together may have been somewhat suspect, but if the data is to be believed, the company’s subscribers have a pretty high tolerance for shows in foreign languages based on how many decided to give Money Heist and Lupin a shot.

Now, it looks like another non-English title is not only on track to join their ranks but set the new standard for every original Netflix series regardless of its primary tongue. On September 17th, the streaming giant dropped the first nine episodes of Squid Game, and based on the initial numbers, co-CEO Ted Sarandos thinks there’s “a very good chance” the South Korean thriller could take the top spot currently held by Bridgerton after quickly establishing itself as the most popular foreign language series to ever hit the platform.

Squid Game—which centers around a mysterious competition where hundreds of people in dire financial straights play a series of deadly games in the hopes of taking home a fortune—is currently boasting a 100% rating amongst critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s also scoring a pretty impressive 88% with viewers, but it’s safe to say there probably aren’t many people among that other 12% who despise it much more than one incredibly unlucky soul in South Korea.

According to The South China Morning Post, a man living in the country’s Gyeonggi Province has been inundated with thousands of calls on a daily basis courtesy of Squid Game viewers who’ve decided to see if the phone number on the business card prospective players are given actually exists. The unidentified 40-something can confirm it is very real, as he says he’s used it for a decade and relies on it to run a business that has nothing to do with renting out a fleet of identical vans to transport unsuspecting strangers to an island filled with lethal playground games.

Sadly, it’s been a bit difficult for him to actually run that business, as he estimates he’s received 4,000 calls a day from curious Squid Game viewers in addition to an endless deluge of unsolicited texts and pictures. On the bright side, a South Korean production company involved with the show has reportedly contacted him in the hopes of negotiating a fair settlement.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.