'Squid Game' takes over China, despite not being legally available

Squid Game's popularity has made it to the shores of China, albeit not legally.

The mega-popular Squid Game has had a meteoric rise to success all over the world. The dystoprian survival show has already surpassed Shonda Rhimes' Bridgerton series to become the most widely watched Netflix show on earth.

While Squid Game is not available in China, the show has surprisingly already built up a huge fan following, which has resulted in an influx of the show's merchandise.

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'Squid Game' finds fans in China

The show, which is based on the Japanese Battle Royale format, is unlikely to pass China's strict censor boards due to its violent and graphic content. However, this hasn't curbed Squid Game's popularity in the country, with fans using illegal streaming sites to watch the hit show.

Major cities in China have also seen a rise in Squid Game-themed restaurants and eateries. A Shanghai eatery selling dalgona, the Squid Game candy, has seen a drastic surge in customers, with people wanting to try out their hand at the game. The eatery's Squid Game-themed sign is also a big hit.

A customer, in an interview with Agency France Presse, said

"People were sending jokes related to the show in group chats when I started watching."

The customer, whose surname is shown as Li, continued,

"It's rather fast-paced and therefore, quite thrilling."

Li and his group of friends could then be seen trying their hand at the challenge – without a gun to their head – like in Squid Game.

Squid Game's success story in China, without ever getting an official premiere, has also left product manufacturers rushing to tap into the demand for items and costumes based on the show. From the pink uniforms of the guards, to the masks and robes worn by the VIPs, several Squid Game props and clothing items have been popping up on the Chinese online shopping platform Taobao.

One of the vendors of these items, Peng Xiuyang, reportedly told Agency France Presse that his sales had seen a spike of around 30 percent ever since he started selling Squid Game merchandise. Surprisingly, the vendor hadn't even heard of the show until a customer asked him for one of the masks worn by the guards. Since then, there has been a massive influx of these items to meet the immense demand.

The eastern trade hub of Yiwu has become the main manufacturing city for Squid Game merchandise, and is seeing a huge increase in buyers, both domestic and international. The vendors say,

"Our customers are those who have seen the series and want to join in the trend."

With a little over two weeks left until Halloween, the masks have emerged a winner, closely followed by the opulent robes of the VIPs.

Piracy is not uncommon in China, with viewers finding new and innovative ways to surpass the country's tough censorship. The easy availability of illegal streaming sites and file sharing has further facilitated this.

South Korea's ambassador to China, Jang Ha-sung, himself highlighted this problem in a parliamentary audit. Asking the Chinese authorities to take action, the ambassador said remotely from Beijing,

"Our assessment is that Squid Game, which is gaining global popularity, is being illegally distributed on around 60 sites in China."

Squid Game is also a hit on Chinese social media sites, with the nation's youth giving #SquidGame nearly two billion views. The hashtag has been trending for weeks now. Chinese fans have also discussed what a Chinese version of the show, which happens to be a scathing critique of capitalism, would look like.

Viewers in China know that they don't have any other option but to use these illegal methods to watch the show, with Netflix itself blocked.

"It's not like it would pass censors if we made such a show ourselves... if it were too violent, it would just get taken down."

While China's strict censorship laws and how they shape the nation's popular culture are topics for another day, for now, Chinese Squid Game fans just want to have fun, playing games and wearing masks.