In K-drama Squid Game, players take on children's games for a hefty cash prize in the hit Netflix series. But how would the cast fare playing children's games known to Malaysian audiences?
In a Dec 31 video posted by Netflix, Season 2s stars such as Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-jun, Yim Si-wan, Park Sung-hoon, Kang Ha-neul and Yang Dong-geun attempted different childrens games from around the world, including South-east Asia. Meanwhile, a masked guard in a pink jumpsuit, resembling the ones from the show who gun down eliminated players, stood and watched.
The cast played three games that Netflix said came from Malaysia: goli panjang, also known as marbles, and batu seremban, or five stones & sepak takraw.
Kang, who plays a former South Korean Marine in the series, tried goli panjang, which called for him to hit a row of marbles using another small ball. At one point, the 34-year-old actor thought closing his eyes would do the trick. But he did not hit a single marble.
After his many failed attempts, Kang said with a laugh to the guard: "I'm sorry, please don't shoot me."
In contrast, Park, 39, who plays the breakout fan favourite character of a transgender woman, managed to ace batu seremban on his first try. It involved throwing and catching five fabric balls (or "stones") in various configurations. South Korea has a similar version of the game called gonggi, which makes its appearance in Season 2.
Yang, 45, plays a gambler who takes part in the game due to his crushing debt in Squid Game. He tried sepak takraw, a game of kick volleyball which is popular in South-east Asia, including Malaysia.
He needed to bounce the ball three times in a row, and took off his shoes to better his chances. But he did not succeed, even accidentally landing in a split after he failed to kick the ball once.
"That was a genuine sound of despair," he said, after he exclaimed in frustration.
Fans were calling out how painful it would have been for him to do this without shoes:
Since its premiere on Dec 26, Squid Game 2 has attracted more than 68 million views, topping Netflix's streaming charts globally and marking the biggest debut ever for an original series by the platform.