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It’s official! ‘The Squid Game’ becomes Netflix’s most successful series

We all knew it would happen, but now it’s official. The Squid Game became the most successful series in Netflix history. The South Korean drama was watched by more than 111 million users in the first 28 days of its release, dethroning Bridgerton from the first place on the list.

Minyoung Kim, Netflix vice president for content in Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, stated that the success of the series far exceeded all expectations, as after having started investing in content for fans of the k-dramas, they never imagined reaching the first place on the platform.

Released in September, the nine-episode series tells the story of a group of people who agree to be part of a children’s game in exchange for $ 38 million. At first glance, the game seems very tempting, until they realize that if they lose, they are killed.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the main actors of the popular drama are now among the most famous around the world. For example, Jung Ho-yeon, who plays Sae-byeok, has gained 14 million followers on Instagram since the series’ launch on September 17.

scenes from the series 'The Squid Game'

If you are one of those who have already seen all the episodes in one day or are about to do so, you probably know that it was originally going to be called Ronda 6. However, did you also know that the story was written 10 years ago, but was rejected a thousand times before reaching Netflix? These six facts about The Squid Game They will leave you with your mouth open and you really want to see it again.

1. Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote the series in 2009

scenes from the series 'The Squid Game'

Hwang began working on the script in 2008 and finished the first draft the following year. Writing the first two episodes took him almost six months, as he felt the story was unfamiliar and too violent. Additionally, he was concerned that people would find it too abstract and might not be marketed to a global audience.

2. It took years to find someone interested

scenes from the series 'The Squid Game'

The creator stated that he struggled a lot to find investors interested in the story, until Netflix decided to give it a try in 2019, as the world changed in such a peculiar way that violent survival stories became one of the favorite genres.

3. Originally, a movie was planned

scenes from the series 'The Squid Game'

Hwang created the story with a feature film in mind, since his experience as a writer has always been within the cinema with films such as Silenced and The Fortress. In fact, in the original story, Detective Jun-ho did not exist and was added until after it was agreed that the project would be a series.

4. The doll from the first game does exist.

scenes from the series 'The Squid Game'

After watching the first game, you know who we are referring to. The huge and terrifying doll from the first episode is real and is located in Jincheon County, a rural area three hours from Seoul. According to different reports, she was loaned to film the series, but now she is back in her place, where she looks after the entrance to an old museum.

5. The phone number is also real

scenes from the series 'The Squid Game'

Game participants engage in the competition by calling an eight-digit number printed on mysterious business cards. Unfortunately, the number is real and belongs to a man who claims to have received four thousand calls a day since the launch of the series.

6. There are no plans for a second part

scenes from the series 'The Squid Game'

Hwang confessed that he would like to plan new movies first before thinking of creating a second season for the series, as right now simply thinking about how to develop the idea is tiring and impossible for him. In addition, he added that if he was convinced to do a second installment, this time he would use the talent of more writers to help him.

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