The popularity of Netflix’s Squid Game has one unfortunate consequence: Phone numbers presented in the show have connected callers to real people who aren’t happy to get the calls. In response, Netflix and Siren Pictures, the studio behind the show, will edit out the phone numbers in the show, The Verge reports.
There have been multiple reports of people receiving calls from those trying to connect to the number shown in Squid Game. A man in Gyeonggi Province claims to have received about 4,000 calls a day, The Korea Times reports. Meanwhile, a woman identified as Kim Gil-young in Seongju County received thousands of calls as well, Reuters reports. Neither phone number owner was interested in changing their phone number as they both have it linked to their personal business operations.
The problem seems to stem from a lack of awareness on the part of Netflix and Siren Pictures. Though the phone number shown in the series deliberately left out a prefix, Reuters explains, Netflix and Siren Pictures didn’t know a prefix would automatically be added when callers attempted to dial the numbers. The problem also may have been avoided if Netflix had access to to a service offered by the Korean Film Council, which provides phone numbers for films that don’t ring up real users.
Topping off the drama, an offer came from Korean Presidential candidate Huh Kyung-Young to buy the phone number on the show for 100 million Korean won (the equivalent of about $84,000 USD). But the sale and purchase of telephone numbers is illegal in Korea as they are a limited national resource, Reuters explains.
Efforts by Netflix and Siren to remove the phone numbers from the show may help the numbers’ owners going forward, as Squid Game is still picking up steam. It’s currently ranked as a top title on Netflix, leading the way in the US.
