Squid Game has caused a real candy craze on TikTok

 

The thing about Squid Game is that everything about the show will leave an effect and an aftertaste on you as a viewer anyway.

The South Korean drama on Netflix revolves around a survival game, in which each participant is plagued by debt and socioeconomic inequality. The game is their last chance to work themselves up in society by going home with a huge amount of money. The dystopian darkness, the slow decomposition of capitalism, the manifestation of injustice...the themes are on top but leave no one untouched.

The aesthetics and looks of Squid Game are just as fundamental to the show's appeal: the fuchsia and green tracksuits, the color-soaked sets, and of course the dalgona cookies featured in the second challenge of the deadly game.

Dalgona

The honeycomb cookie, more commonly known as dalgona, is a mixture of sugar and baking soda. The sugar toffee-like texture originated in Korea, where its popularity has spread across regions for decades. Those online will recognize the term from the early days of the pandemic, when Dalgona coffee became a global phenomenon .

Viewers and fans of the series will no doubt remember dalgona from episode three ("The Man with the Umbrella"), in which the players have to play a seemingly harmless children's game. Each player must carefully cut out a shape - circle, triangle, star or umbrella - printed on the piece of honeycomb. If the cookie cracks even slightly, the soldiers shoot the participants on the spot. It's just one of the harrowing challenges that has captivated many Netflix viewers.

Like everything related to the hit show , the confectionery has sparked a real craze, extending to all corners - from the internet to street vendors.

"The production crew and I joked that our series would spark a Dalgona craze, like Netflix's Kingdom did with the gat — a traditional Korean hat — but I'm amazed it actually happened," said Squid Game creator and director Hwang. Dong-hyuk to The Korea Times .

Online, the fascination for dalgona cookies and candies really took shape on TikTok. On the platform, users have shared recipes, tried out the challenge and reenacted the iconic episode.

TikTok comes with Squid Game filter

TikTok itself has also jumped on the trend quickly, creating a "Toffee Game" effect . With the show's signature ghostly music playing in the background, users use their faces to cut out the shapes on the cookies - a digital mirror of the real-life challenge.

Dalgona is very popular

The influence has also spread to the street level, especially among sellers in South Korea. In the country's capital, Seoul, for example, a seller who has been making dalgona for nearly a decade is seeing the candies' popularity explode in popularity.

While Squid Game can't take credit for inventing the sweet concoction, the show can be commended for rekindling interest in it. The valley run also highlights Squid Game's global impact. The series will stay with you long after the credits, one way or another.