Korean candy Dalgona has been in the spotlight after the megahit success of Netflix’s Squid Game. The process of making this candy is pretty straightforward but is a craft among candy makers. To melted sugar, candy makers will add a pinch of baking soda. Then, as it cools off, they would stamp a shape into it. The game is called ppopgi, and players should be able to separate the shape from the rest of the candy without breaking it. Ppopgi is a children’s game.
As per Squid Game’s theme, children’s games come with a deadly twist for contestants who participated for money. In episode three, it is all about ppopgi. The New York Times wrote an article on Dalgona, its history in the post-South Korean War, and its gradual disappearance in the early 2000s.
Due to Squid Game’s popularity, Dalgona candy is making a comeback in Korea and spreading all over the globe. There are versions of it posted online, but many Koreans argue that nothing beats the street candy makers, who also had to cater to the sudden boom in demand for the toffee-like honeycomb candy.
In a report by Business Insider, An Yong Hui, the Dalgona maker for Squid Game, said he only sold 200 candies a day before the show debuted on Netflix. Now, he faces a 300% rise in demand, selling over 500 candies a day.
There’s no doubt that South Korea will face a rise in tourist population when the pandemic ends. This time, it’s not only KPop and KDrama that will serve as an attraction, but Dalgona and the game enticed them to travel there.