On October 20, social media was flooded with news of a new variety show with a familiar logo that will debut on a Chinese video platform.
Several internet users recently published messages from Chinese media outlets heralding the release of a variety show titled ‘Squid Victory’ on Youku.
According to the announcement, this show’s players would be playing childhood games and following a plot. ‘Squid Victory’ will be released in 2022, according to Youku.
After promoting a new variety show called, Squid Victory, Chinese streaming giant Youku has come under fire for allegedly plagiarizing Netflix hit Squid Game.
The show, like Squid Game, will feature contestants competing in “large-scale kids’ games.” Even the posters are eerily identical to those of the Korean smash hit.
Netizens chastised the “shameless” platform for lacking originality.
Youku has apologized and stated that the poster was only a “draft.”
“Due to a work error, the first draft of the new Game’s Victory show – which was shot down before – was mistakenly used in promotional activities at a trade fair,”
the streaming service announced the change on the Chinese social media network Weibo, accompanying a new poster for the show, now named Game’s Victory.
Social media users, on the other hand, were unconvinced.
“It sounds like such a lame cover-up. Obviously, they had tried to rip off Squid Game because of how popular it is,”
one Weibo user wrote.
Others said that they were “tired” of Chinese producers plagiarizing Korean stuff. The Rap Of China, a popular rap music competition show, has previously been chastised for being a carbon copy of South Korea’s Show Me The Money.
“Why can’t our producers come up with our own ideas? This is so embarrassing,”
a comment read.
Squid Game, the global smash show centered on lethal children’s games, has become enormously popular in China despite the fact that it is not officially released there.
Because Netflix is not available in China, many individuals have been watching the show on unauthorized streaming sites or by downloading torrents.
Youku is one of China’s most popular streaming networks, with an estimated 90 to 100 million subscribers.
China and South Korea have had a number of cultural squabbles in recent years.