On Oct. 19, the Illini Thaakat Foundation simulated the “Squid Games” on the Main Quad. Illini Thaakat is a service-based organization that promotes charitable giving through fundraising and volunteering activities.

Squid Game, South Korea’s new survival drama television series, has become a viral sensation among millions of viewers around the globe. 

Since its debut on Sept. 17, “Squid Game” reached over 111 million viewers in just 3 weeks, becoming Netflix’s biggest original series debut.

Popularity for Squid Game, especially among college students, ultimately materialized at the University as an organization decided to host one of their own.

According to Ali Abdullah, volunteer chair of Illini Thaakat, his student group organized the Squid Games event because of “the hype that ‘Squid Game’ had created.” 

Illini Thaakat hosted a variety of children’s games that were presented in the show, the most popular being “Red Light, Green Light.” Participants who were unable to complete the challenge were moved to the side. Other games included tug of war.

“Because Squid Game is trending right now, we knew that organizing this event would increase turnout and attract new members as well,” Abdullah said.

Aisha Rahman, who participated in the event, stated that even though she hasn’t watched the show completely, she enjoys how it highlights important socioeconomic aspects of society that should be further discussed among college students, such as corruption, financial hardships and economic inequality.

“I don’t know much about what it’s about, but I know that I like it just because it’s about things that I don’t usually talk about,” Rahman said.

Tianna Blake, fellow participant, noted that Squid Game has also contributed to the increased popularity of Korean culture among global viewers. 

At the end, Abdullah claimed that the event was overall a success because of the vast number of people involved in the games and the publicity they attracted.

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