Squid Game is the Netflix phenomenon that’s blown up all around the world. The popular series – which follows contestants competing in deathly games for a monetary prize – has reached such heights that a South Korean town has actually created a real-life version of the games.
However, the real-life version has been put on hold because it would breach social distancing measures.
St. John’s Hotel in Gangwon Province launched a real-life event inspired by the childhood games that feature in the series. Tickets cost 10,000 won ($11.40) each and were sold out by the time the local authorities cancelled the games.
The grand prize of the games was set to be 5 million won ($5700), and, unlike the TV series, thankfully, murders were strictly prohibited.
The contestants were set to compete in four of the games that featured on the series; tug of war, the traditional Korean paper-flipping game ttakji chigi, the dalgona cookie challenge and the iconic “Red Light, Green Light” competition.
The games were set to take place on October 24th, at the hotel’s outdoor pine tree forest. However, Gangneung City has since paused the games, sending an official notice to the hotel that said the games goes against social distancing guidelines.
Though the hotel’s real life Squid Game event may be paused, a similar affair called “Squid Camping” is still set to go ahead in Wonju, also located in Gangwon Province, the Korea Herald reports.
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“Squid Camping” wis hosted by the social platform Frip, and the reality expedition comes with the tagline: “Watching (the game) can never beat the excitement of actually being the player.”
All of the contestants will don the trademark green tracksuits the series is synonymous with, and the games will take place overnight while contestants camp in a forest.
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Watch the Squid Game trailer:
