A school in Korea has voiced concern about the situation where some students use traditional games in Netflix’s original “Squid Game” as an excuse for school violence.
On October 28th, a school notice was posted on one popular Korean online community titled “worrying about the occurrence of school violence cases imitating specific media.” The school explained to parents about certain games that are popular on campus. It’s “Red Light Green Light” and “Ttakji Chigi” (paper slapping). Both are traditional Korean games that can be enjoyed soundly.
Recently, however, a quite different situation has been happening in this school. According to the school, “There are cases in which playing turns into violence as students imitate the recent popular games in dramas or movies.” “Red Light Green Light” has turned into a game in which those who have been eliminated during the game will be hit. “Ttakji Chigi” has been changed into a game with the rule that you can slap the friend who has not flipped other people’s ttakji (folded paper) pieces.
The school said, “We ask for special guidance from families so that students do not enjoy deteriorated games that combine healthy entertainment culture with violent behaviors.” In the meantime, they demanded that media viewing that does not meet the age-restricted rating standards should be prohibited. These games are gaining popularity around the world thanks to “Squid Game“. However, unfortunately, the situation has changed in some cases as mentioned above.
A netizen complained, “I work at an elementary school. I think I’m going crazy because of ‘Squid Game’.” Other netizens also expressed their regrets, such as “Traditional games are polluted”, “I can’t believe our childhood games have changed like this”…
