Squid Gametops Netflix's global rankings and it's the first Korean series to hit the top spot in the United States. It's no doubt the most popular series today globally.
Surprisingly, the show used a real phone number. Yes, the phone number on the series was real and was not made up for the show. And the real owner is facing serious damages after it was exposed worldwide.
Real Owner of Squid Game Phone Number Flooded With Prank Calls
Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) received a calling card from a mysterious man (Gong Yoo) who enticed him to play with him for cash. Gi-hun has no money and the man tells him he will accept a slap for an exchange. Gi-hun received countless slaps from the man but was able to turn around the game and eventually ended up with all the cash.
The mysterious man told Gi-hun that there's a game that offers more prizes than what he just receives. The man handed G-hun a calling card with eight digits urging him to call it if he wants to join the game. Surprisingly, the phone number on the card is real.
The man in his 40s who owns the phone number used on Squid Game is living in Gyeonggi Province. He told broadcaster MBC that he was getting around 4,000 phone calls daily after the hit Korean surviving TV series premiered.
Initially, he thought those were only spam calls because he was not aware of the Netflix series. He only learned about Squid Game when one of the callers told him that they got his number from the program, South China Morning Post reported.
Many of the callers were kids allegedly telling him that they "wanted to be in the game." He gets phone calls between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. Some also sent him text messages and pictures.
The man, who wasn't named, explained to MBC that he couldn't change his number because he has been using it for over 10 years. Also, the phone number is linked to his business.
His wife is also suffering from the same fate because their phone number is the same except for the last digit.
Squid Game Production Allegedly Told The Owner To Change His Phone Number
In an interview with SBS News, the owner of the phone number said the Squid Game production had already contacted him. However, their initial advice was to have him change his number.
"We can't do anything since [the phone number] already went out and it's not like we did it intentionally," the Squid Game production team reportedly said as translated by Koreaboo. "Honestly, we think the only option is for you to change your number."
However, the owner refused to do so because he has been using it for almost two decades already. A rep for Squid Game told Osen in a statement that they were "trying to solve" the issue. The production said that they have "phone calls and face-to-face meetings between the owner of the number."
Presidential hopeful offered to buy the number
Presidential hopeful Huh Kyung-young, the National Revolutionary Party's honorary chief who announced his bid for the presidency last month, offered to help. In a post on Facebook on Sept. 26, he offered to buy the number for 100 million won ($85,000).
"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," he wrote per The Korea Times.
However, the owner might not accept the offer. Again, the man said he couldn't let go of the phone number because it is linked to his business and he has been using it for nearly 20 years already.
Squid Game Season 2 Rumors
Netflix has not officially renewed Squid Game. However, since the last season ended with a cliffhanger, many are expecting Season 2. In the upcoming season, there are rumors that Gi-hun (Lee Jung Jae) will find out that the old man, the player no. 001, Oh Il-nam (Oh Yeong-su) is his biological father.
Fans still have to still wait for Netflix's confirmation for Squid Game Season 2. However, the wait might be long because showrunner and director Hwang Dong-hyuk told Variety that he has no "well developed plans" for a sequel.
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