Squid Game Edits Scenes Featuring Iconic Business Card After Woman Bombarded with Prank Calls
Netflix’s Squid Game has edited scenes featuring the now-iconic business card after a woman in South Korea said she was bombarded with prank calls and texts.
The woman, named Kim Gil-young, runs a dessert shop in Seongju county, and told CNN she has been using the number for 16 years.
“After Squid Game aired, I have been receiving calls and texts endlessly, 24/7, to the point that it’s hard for me to go on with daily life,” she told K-pop culture news source Koreaboo in an interview. “This is a number that I’ve been using for more than 10 years, so I’m quite taken aback.”
“There are more than 4000 numbers that I’ve had to delete from my phone (viewers) and it’s to the point where due to people reaching out without a sense of day and night due to their curiosity, my phone’s battery is drained and turns off,” she added. “At first I didn’t know why but my friend told me that my number came out in Squid Game and that’s when I realized.”
While the production team removed the first three digits of the number, for Korean numbers, those digits mark area codes by city, with the most common one being 010 for mobile, according to Koreaboo.
“If only the last eight digits are provided without an area code, it’s possible that the call connects automatically if you are in the area,” Koreaboo explained.
Kim further told CNN that the calls have been disrupting her life to the point that she is now taking medicine to calm her nerves, as she has been diagnosed with an acute stress disorder.
“I cannot focus because unknown numbers are repeatedly calling me,” she told CNN, adding that it has been impossible to run her business as customers have been struggling to reach her and she cannot tell the difference between genuine and prank calls.
“Together with the production company, we are working to resolve this matter, including editing scenes with phone numbers where necessary,” a Netflix spokesperson told CNN, confirming that they have already edited those scenes.
The number on the business card has since been changed and now only includes 6 digits, which does not complete a full Korean phone number.
Kim also confirmed that a representative of the show offered her one million South Korean won, roughly $840, in compensation to buy a new phone, yet she has already used the number for adverts promoting her business.
“They said they are sorry but honestly, I’m not sure if they are genuinely sorry. I wonder if they would have reacted the same if I weren’t an individual but a major company,” Kim said. “In my view the show is number one in the world and made a lot of money. But they told me that they are in a difficult position too.”
The Philippines’ Manila Bulletin additionally reported that others with similar numbers are also receiving prank calls, with one man claiming he received more than 2,000 calls and texts in roughly 24 hours.
