“We Can’t Do Anything” — Netflix Faces Major Backlash For Their Response To The “Squid Game” Phone Number Issue

Previously, the Netflix original series Squid Game made headlines for using a real phone number within the K-Drama. The owner of the number shared with Money Today that they “have been receiving calls and texts endlessly” and it’s been hard for them to live their normal life.

It’s been reported that following the Money Today interview, Netflix reached out to the phone number owner, but their response is being met with harsh criticisms.

The actual owner of the Squid Game phone number shared with SBS News that she was contacted by the Netflix production crew of the series following her previous interview. The phone number owner revealed that they told her to “change her number” since nothing else can be done at this point in time.

We can’t do anything since it [phone number] already went out and it’s not like we did it intentionally. Honestly, we think the only option is for you to change your number.

— Netflix “Squid Game” production crew’s response

Not only did the Squid Game‘s Netflix production crew fail to apologize for the inconvenience, but they gave the phone number owner her “only option” — which was to change her number. It was also reported that the production crew offered a measly compensation of ₩1.00 million KRW (about $851 USD) to “give up the phone number.”

However, the phone number owner revealed that changing her number was not an option because not only has she had “the same number for almost 20 years,” but the number in question is tied to her small business.

We keep getting order requests so we receive endless calls. We are also receiving a ton of text messages so the situation is…

— “Squid Game” phone number actual owner

Netflix’s response to the situation has left Korean netizens completely baffled, as they could not comprehend the “audacity” of the production company. Shortly after the SBS News segment went live, Netflix became the center of mass backlash as K-Netizens began to criticize their “rude response” to the situation.

• “Seeing their response makes me regret the hours I spent watching the series. If I knew that the production crew had this kind of audacity, I would have never watched it to begin with.”
• “So you’re telling me they gave ₩1.00 million KRW (about $851 USD) to the business owner and told them to change their number ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ these f*cking b*stards.”
• “Honestly, shouldn’t she sue them?”
• “Can she not sue them for this? If this was America, they would be forced to compensate her hundreds of thousands of dollars. F*cking a*sholes.”
• “Look at their rude response. Shouldn’t they apologize first.”
• “It’s not easy to change a numberㅜ that and she runs a small business…why does she have to put in the unnecessary effort and time to do that??!!”
• “For f*ck’s sake they have no empathy. It’s not that easy to change a number.”

As the series continues to gain immense popularity, we hope that the situation gets resolved smoothly.