Netflix's 'Squid Game 2' is facing controversy in China due to illegal viewing.
Recently, on the Chinese content review site Douban, a review page for Squid Game 2 was created even before its release. Currently, there are about 60,000 reviews posted.
Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University noted, "When Squid Game 1 was released, it was the same, and illegal viewing has become routine in China," adding, "It is more astonishing that there is no sense of shame." He criticized, "So far, China has freely used the likenesses of Hallyu stars appearing in K-content and produced counterfeit goods for sale, making it part of their revenue structure, which is a bigger problem."
"It's time for Chinese authorities to actively step forward," and emphasized, "Chinese authorities have turned a blind eye to illegal viewing of K-content until now, knowing full well. Chinese authorities should first respect the content of other countries and focus on cracking down on their citizens' illegal activities."
Squid Game 2 depicts the intense showdown between 'Sung Ki-hoon' (Lee Jung-jae), who returns seeking revenge and joins the game, and 'Front Man' (Lee Byung-hun), who confronts him. The production cost is around 100 billion won, four times that of season 1. According to the OTT ranking site FlixPatrol, Squid Game 2 maintained the top spot in the Netflix TV show category the day before. It is the third day since its release on the 26th. It reached the top in all 93 countries where Netflix is available.