Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
'Squid Game' tops global Netflix chart
Netflix's original series "Squid Game" / Courtesy of Netflix
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
Netflix's Korean original series "Squid Game" has topped the global top 10 charts at the streaming giant, Friday, local time. This is the first time that a Korean drama series reached the top spot on Netflix's top 10.
According to streaming analytics platform FlixPatrol, the thriller series seized the position on Friday on the daily top 10 list, while topping the list on Saturday as well. The British teen comedy series "Sex Education," which was at the top, fell to second. “Lucifer,” a U.S. mystery series in its sixth and last season, ranked third on the chart.
Squid Game took first place in 66 out of 83 countries.
The achievement came after the series, which began streaming Sept. 17, ranked second on the same chart from Monday to Thursday, local time, last week which was the first for a Korean drama series. It also became the first Korean drama series in the U.S.'s daily top 10 list since Tuesday.
Netflix's global top 10 chart from FlixPatrol / Screenshot from FlixPatrol's website
Created and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, whose previous works include the period drama film "The Fortress" and the comedy "Miss Granny," the series revolves around the participants taking part in a deadly, high-stakes survival competition consisting of traditional Korean children's games.
For each round of a different children's game, the players fight to the death to make it to the next stage and become the eventual winner of a 45.6 billion won ($39.4 million) prize.
In a recent press conference, Hwang said he was inspired by real life human struggles for the script he wrote about 10 years ago.
“I realized that we are living in a time where those games are actually happening around us and have become relevant to our world. So when I showed the piece around, people told me that it was very interesting and realistic, which made me think now was the perfect time for this series.”