Squid Game is the movie that is leading the trending chart on Netflix this week and has attracted a lot of shares from the audience on social networks. It is also one of the most successful movies that the streaming service Netflix has aired.
The scary doll character that appears in the first episodes of the Squid Game is the center of the game “Green Light, Red Light” (in Vietnam, it is often known as “One, Two, Three”) - a childhood game of many generations, but the film builds it into a bloody game that haunts the audience. In the film, the doll will turn her back to the player and start singing a children's song in a ghostly way, when the melody ends, the doll will turn around, if anyone is still moving, that person will become the loser and be shot on the spot.
The more the Squid Game movie attracts audiences, the more haunting the image of this doll becomes. However, few people know that this character is completely real and is still "living" in Jincheon, a rural area about 3 hours drive north of Seoul.
Tourists can visit the village and see this creepy doll in real life (photo: Twitter/@kdramafolder)
The doll stands outside, "guarding" the entrance of the Macha Land Carriage Museum. The doll's height is equal to the height of the entrance door of a traditional Korean house. The Macha Land Museum placed the doll there to prevent vandalism and harassment from outside.
According to Koreaboo, the doll was borrowed by the Squid Game production team for the filming of the movie and has now been returned to the village, after the movie was completed. Unfortunately, the doll is currently missing one of its arms, even though it was intact in the movie. Although no explanation has been given for this, many have speculated that the damage occurred during filming.
A corner of Macha Land Museum, South Korea (photo: The Smart Local - South Korea)
At Macha Land, visitors can learn more about traditional Korean carriages set in natural settings. They also produce carriages and weapons for Korean historical dramas. These carriages and weapons are then displayed at the museum.
But that still doesn't answer the question: Why would this museum design a giant (and creepy) doll to be placed in the middle of... nowhere?
"Nightmare" come true
South Korea isn't the only place where the Squid Game doll is present. There's another one currently "watching over" pedestrians in the Philippines.
On September 22, a video of a doll resembling the character from Squid Game went viral online. The doll was installed by Netflix Philippines to promote the show and as a “creative” way for authorities to ensure pedestrian safety.
Specifically, this doll is located in Manila, standing tall in front of Robinsons Galleria Ortigas shopping mall. Like the doll character in the Squid Game, this real-life replica can observe pedestrians with laser eyes. Whenever the doll detects someone walking, the doll's eyes turn a menacing red.
The installation idea has attracted a lot of attention. Some netizens even commented that this Filipino doll is “more effective than a traffic police officer”.
