CAPE TOWN - The South Korean Netflix hit Squid Game has been taking the world by storm, and now it seems to be inspiring South African holidaymakers to explore a trip to Korea.
Cheapflights.co.za, a leading travel search engine, saw a spike in people searching for flights to Korea since the show premiered in South Africa on September 17, with searches up around 40% month on month.
This data is based on flight searches made on Cheapflights.co.za between September 17 and October 17, compared to searches made between August 17 – September 17.
Searches are based on travel within the next 180 days.
“More than 130 million people have watched the dystopian drama series so far, with filming locations including the island of Seungbong-ri, and Daejeon, South Korea’s 5th largest city, there is plenty of Squid Game themed sight-seeing to experience,” the company said.
Cheapflights data shows round-trip flights to South Korea have an average price of around R15 400.
All travellers from South Africa wishing to enter the country have to submit a PCR negative certificate issued within 72 hours before travel.
It’s advised to still check the current South Korean Government travel entry rules and requirements relating to Covid-19.
Last week, Squid Game officially become Netflix's biggest original series launch.
“Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever!” Netflix posted on Twitter.
Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever! pic.twitter.com/SW3FJ42Qsn
— Netflix (@netflix) October 12, 2021
The series reached that total in just 27 days since its release, easily outpacing UK costume drama “Bridgerton”, which was streamed by 82 million accounts in its first 28 days.
Netflix co-chief executive and chief content officer Ted Sarandos told a tech conference in California last month that the streaming service was surprised by how popular Squid Game has become.
“We did not see that coming, in terms of its global popularity,” he said.
The series was so popular that South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband sued Netflix to pay for costs from increased network traffic and maintenance work because of the surge in viewers.
Cape Times