Squid Game: Netflix to edit out phone numbers from scenes after members of public inundated with calls
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After allegedly exposing a real phone number belonging to a Korean citizen on the hit series Squid Game, Netflix and Siren Pictures Inc are working together to resolve the issue by “editing scenes with phone numbers where necessary”.
The phone number was reportedly featured in the first episode, where it is seen written on a business card handed over to Lee Jung-Jae’s character, Seong Gi-Hun, in the subway station by a mysterious man in a black suit.
A Netflix spokesperson told The Independent: “Together with the production company, we are working to resolve this matter, including editing scenes with phone numbers where necessary.”
The purported real-life owner of the phone number told Money Today that he has since been receiving “endless” calls and text messages.
“It has come to the point where people are reaching out day and night due to their curiosity. It drains my phone’s battery and it turns off,” the man, who hails from the Gyeonggi province, said.
“At first, I didn’t know why, then my friend told me that my number came out [in the series].”
Squid Game, which arrived on Netflix on 17 September, has become one of the streaming service’s biggest-ever shows in a matter of days.
The Korean-language thriller explores a dystopian reality, in which a mysterious organisation recruits people in debt to compete in a series of apparently childish games for the chance to win a life-changing amount of money.
The games are based on classic children’s games, some of which are specific to Korea, while others, such as “Red Light, Green Light”, are known worldwide.
Unlike typical children’s games, however, those in Squid Game have deadly consequences should you lose.
Last week, Ofcom made a dig at Squid Game after the show aired a man’s real phone number.
Reacting to the news on Instagram, Ofcom shared an image of the story on its official page, with the caption: “Things that wouldn’t happen in the UK because of Ofcom rules.”
The regulator added: “When you see or hear a UK phone number in a TV or radio show, it’s from a special list of numbers we’ve set aside for this specific use.”
Squid Game is available to watch now on Netflix.
