Netflix to delete phone number scene in ‘Squid Game’

A scene showing a telephone number on a mysterious business card will be deleted from the drama series “Squid Game,” an official of Netflix Korea said, after the number’s owner was bombarded by thousands of calls since the show’s release.

In the first episode, actor Gong Yoo makes a cameo, giving Lee Jung-jae the business card and asked him to call the number printed on the back if he is interested in joining the so-called Squid Game contest.

The contest turns out to be a deadly one in which 456 competitors vie for a tempting prize of 45.6 billion won ($38.3 million).

The number printed on the business card is a number that is in use and the owner has claimed that he has been flooded with calls and text messages, while others with similar phone numbers also said they have become victims of prank calls.

“We are trying to resolve the issue with the production company, including editing the original scene with the phone number where necessary,” the official said.

The official said the company is trying its best to resolve the problem with the alleged victims and the owner of the phone number, but did not give further details.

“We would like to ask the fans to stop making late-night calls and messages,” the company added.

According to the Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, the Korean sci-fi thriller is on track to be Netflix’s biggest show ever, attracting far more viewers than the highly popular French-language crime drama “Lupin.”

The nine-part series “Squid Game” became the most popular show on the streaming platform in some 80 countries, according to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)