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Separating dalgona candy (also known as ppopgi in Korean) is one of the "deadly" challenges in the movie Squid Game, requiring meticulousness and a keen eye. Each player is given a needle and a candy with different shapes printed on its surface. Their task is to use the needle to separate the outer edge of the candy to reveal the shapes inside as completely as possible.
The candies in Squid Game are printed in four shapes: triangle, circle, star, and umbrella, and players must be extremely careful to separate them along the outlines.
Dalgona is a mixture of granulated sugar and baking soda, melted and poured onto a greased baking sheet. It is then flattened with a flat, round object. While the candy is still slightly unhardened, stencils are used to create designs on the surface. Finally, it is left to cool for a few minutes before being enjoyed.
From the simple steps of making and shaping the candy, many people thought that separating it would be incredibly easy. However, those who have tried it before will realize that it is relatively difficult, because the candy is very porous and easily breaks if not handled carefully. This seemingly easy but actually difficult challenge, along with the stressful pressure on the players in the film, makes the challenge appealing to the audience and stimulates their curiosity.
The "sugar candy craze" is sweeping the world.
Street vendors selling dalgona candy in South Korea have unexpectedly gained popularity among young people – who don't mind queuing up to get their hands on a piece of candy and participate in the challenge of splitting it open right in the store.
An Yong-hui has run a dalgona candy stall near a university in Seoul for the past eight years. He and his staff were the ones who made the candy for the Squid Game film crew when episode 3 was being filmed in June 2020.
An Yong-hui's candy stall in Seoul.
He said that after the movie became popular, he couldn't go home for a whole week because he had to make candy to sell to fans. He sold about 500 pieces of candy each day, more than double the number he had sold before. Each piece of candy sold for 2,000 won (approximately 40,000 VND).
Fans can take on the candy-splitting challenge right at the booth.
According to An Yong-hui, dalgona was once popular in South Korea and was associated with the childhood of many people in previous decades.
Not only popular in South Korea, this candy-splitting "craze" has spread to many other countries around the world thanks to the popularity of the Squid Game. In Singapore, a coffee shop has become famous for turning this candy-splitting game into a fun experience that any customer would want to try when they step into the shop.
Pearlyn Tan, owner of Brown Butter coffee shop, said: "We were trying to boost brand awareness. My marketing team and I came up with this idea after I accidentally saw the movie, and we didn't expect it to be so successful. We've become famous on TikTok." The challenge runs from 12 pm to 6 pm daily, but is only for dine-in customers with a minimum bill of S$30 (approximately VND 500,000).
Singapore is still implementing some Covid-19 prevention measures, so the number of customers entering and leaving the shop will be limited. However, the number of people queuing outside the shop to wait for their turn is quite large, especially on weekends.
Each customer participating in the game will receive a piece of candy printed with one of three shapes: heart, circle, or star, along with a card similar to the one in Squid Game but in a cuter version. Players are only allowed two minutes to complete the challenge; if successful, they will receive a random prize from the shop. However, if they fail, they don't have to worry because the "punishment" is very light, such as taking a commemorative photo with their product.
In Paris, also ina pop-up store(a type of store that only opens temporarily for a short time, in special, unexpected locations, capitalizing on trends or popular events), many visitors also got to experience a space that simulated the game: separating dalgona candy and throwing Ddakji envelopes from Squid Game, and they also got to take photos with staff dressed in pink, wearing masks like the guards in the movie.
Despite the limited number of visitors allowed into the pop-up and a maximum stay of only 10 minutes, many people didn't mind waiting and even lined up for up to two hours to experience the fun activities.
The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
Korean memories
"Dalgona was one of the cheapest snacks back then, and although eating too much of it wasn't good for your health, it was incredibly appealing to a 7-year-old like me," shared Maddy Park, a young Korean woman living in Seoul, about the street candy.
One of Maddy Park's earliest memories of dalgona is seeing a mobile stall set up in front of her school selling the candy for about a cent. That's where her childhood memories associated with this sugary treat began to take shape.
Ms. Park recalled how the vendors made the candy and the moment she and her classmates tried to separate the candy with a needle without breaking it. Back then, if a child successfully completed the challenge, they would receive a free reward at the stall.
Dalgona coffee was popular in South Korea during the 1970s and 1980s.
"There's an element of chance, like in Squid Game, but there's no life or death involved," shared JinJoo Lee, a 55-year-old South Korean food blogger, when talking about her dalgona candy-separating challenge. Her dalgona candy recipe, posted in 2018, has seen a surprising 30% increase in views in the past few days. She noted that similar candies exist in many parts of the world but are known by different names.
Albert Park, an associate professor of Korean history at Claremont McKenna University in California, said that dalgona candy filled a sweet void in post-war Korea for children who were used to chocolate given by American soldiers; it was inexpensive and readily available.
Mr. Park shared that in the 1960s, this type of candy was commonly sold outside elementary schools and toy stores.
According to Mr. Park, dalgona candy vendors gradually disappeared in the early 2000s, as online shopping became popular and toy stores gradually closed down. It's also possible that the booming South Korean candy industry, along with the rise of other similarly priced candies, caused many dalgona makers to cease their business.
Recently, thanks to the popularity of Squid Game, this candy has made a comeback as a snack that evokes fond memories of the past for many. "For some young Koreans, it's a way to connect with history without necessarily learning from books," the associate professor said.
Global "Hot Trend"
With the rapid development of modern media and global connections, this candy has become famous beyond the borders of South Korea. Many fans around the world have sought it out, made it themselves, and filmed videos to share on social media. As a result, dalgona candy has become a new trend, embraced by many, even those who didn't watch Squid Game are enthusiastically trying out the challenge.
On the social media platform TikTok, simply typing the hashtags #squidgamecandy or #dalgonacandy will bring up hundreds of millions of videos sharing users' candy-making experiences. Many of these videos receive a huge amount of interaction and countless supportive comments from other users.Hot TikTokerMany have joined this challenge, and the number continues to grow. Besides TikTok, countless people are also posting their candy-making experiences on other social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. Simultaneously, candy-making tutorials are becoming increasingly common and can be found almost anywhere on the internet.
The more people participate, the more creativity emerges. A series of new cakes are "baked," printed with diverse shapes, not only making the cakes more interesting to many people but also increasing the difficulty of the candy-splitting challenge.
The challenging shapes printed on the candy require players to be extremely careful if they want to successfully overcome the challenge.
The dalgona candy craze has reminded many of a global trend that emerged in early 2021 – dalgona coffee (also known as whipped coffee), which also originated in South Korea. This trend started after famous actor Jung Il-woo revealed in a game show that he had the opportunity to try a special coffee in Macau that tasted as delicious as Korean dalgona candy. In the mornings that followed, whipped coffee unexpectedly became popular in many countries and a go-to drink for relieving stress during the lockdown.
Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociologist and expert on race and racial discrimination in Hollywood, said: "Today, dalgona candy represents the adoration of Korean music and movies." Through these popular films and musical products, Korean culture is promoted everywhere, so that people around the world can happily exclaim, "Wow, I've made a new discovery about Korean culture!"
