NETFLIX HOLDS THE PHONE

SEOUL: Netflix has edited out a phone number that appears in its global hit series Squid Game after South Koreans who use it or similar combinations were deluged with calls from people asking to join the show’s life-or-death games.

The South Korean-made series has topped Netflix popularity charts in more than 80 countries since its launch last month and is on track to become its mostwatched series yet.

In the series, cash-strapped people compete in a series of children’s games to win a big prize, but losers are killed. To take part, they have to call a number on a business card.

But while filmmakers usually use fake numbers, the number on the card belongs to a South Korean who complained they had received “non-stop” calls.

Other South Koreans with similar numbers also complained of prank calls.