The Drama: Squid Game’s Deadly Candy Game
In September 2021, Netflix released Squid Game (오징어 게임), and the world was never the same. The nine-episode Korean thriller became Netflix’s most-watched series of all time, captivating 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first 28 days. But among the show’s brutal childhood games, one challenge captured the internet’s imagination more than any other: the dalgona game.
Episode 3, titled “The Man with the Umbrella,” features 456 desperate contestants facing a deceptively simple task. Each player receives a circular dalgona candy with a shape stamped into its center—umbrella, star, circle, or triangle. Their mission: carefully carve out the shape using only a needle, without breaking the brittle candy. Success means survival. Failure means death.
The scene’s genius lies in its tension. As players lick, scrape, and sweat over their fragile candies, viewers around the world found themselves holding their breath. Within weeks, “dalgona candy” became a global phenomenon. Korean street vendors reported doubled sales. TikTok exploded with challenge videos. And suddenly, a humble Korean childhood snack became the world’s most famous candy.
The History of Dalgona
What Is Dalgona?
The name comes from the Korean word dalda (달다), meaning “sweet.” Dalgona (달고나) is also called ppopgi (뽑기), which means “to pick out”—referring to the game of extracting shapes from the candy.
At its core, dalgona is remarkably simple:
- Sugar melted until caramelized
- Baking soda stirred in to create a honeycomb texture
- Pressed flat and stamped with a shape
The result is a crispy, airy candy with a distinctive honeycomb structure—similar to what’s called honeycomb toffee, cinder toffee, or hokey pokey in other countries.
Origins: 1960s-1970s Korea
Dalgona emerged in South Korea during the 1960s and 1970s, a period of rapid industrialization but widespread poverty. Street vendors, often elderly women, would set up portable stoves outside schools and sell the candy for just a few won.
The brilliance of the ppopgi game was its business model: if a child successfully extracted the shape without breaking it, they won a free candy. This gambling element made the snack irresistible to Korean schoolchildren, who would spend their pocket money attempting the challenge again and again.
| Era | Significance |
|---|---|
| 1960s-70s | Birth of dalgona as cheap street food |
| 1980s-90s | Peak popularity among Korean children |
| 2000s | Decline as Western snacks arrived |
| 2021 | Global explosion thanks to Squid Game |
The Ppopgi Challenge
The shapes have different difficulty levels:
| Shape | Difficulty | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | Easy | High |
| Triangle | Easy | High |
| Star | Medium | Medium |
| Umbrella | Hard | Low |
In Squid Game, protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) receives the dreaded umbrella—the hardest shape. His clever solution of licking the back to weaken the candy became one of the show’s most iconic moments.
The Recipe: Authentic Dalgona Candy
Ingredients
Essential
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- A pinch of baking soda (about 1/8 teaspoon)
Optional
- Dalgona candy mold set (with shapes and press) Amazon →
- A needle or toothpick for the challenge
Equipment
- Stainless steel ladle or small non-stick pan
- Long-handled spoon or chopstick
- Flat surface (marble, silicone mat, or parchment paper)
- Flat press (can use the bottom of a glass)
Video Tutorial
Video by 오픈키친 OpenKitchen
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare Your Station Have everything ready before you start. Once the sugar melts, you’ll have only seconds to work. Lightly oil your pressing surface and press, or dust with sugar to prevent sticking.
Step 2: Melt the Sugar Place sugar in a ladle or small pan over low to medium-low heat. Watch carefully as the edges begin to melt. Gently stir to ensure even melting. The sugar should turn from white to clear to light golden—never dark brown or it will taste bitter.
Step 3: Add Baking Soda When the sugar is fully melted and light golden, remove from heat immediately. Add the baking soda and stir vigorously for about 5 seconds. The mixture will foam up dramatically—this is the honeycomb magic happening.
Step 4: Pour and Press Quickly pour the foamy mixture onto your prepared surface. Wait 3-5 seconds for it to settle slightly, then press flat with your press. Work fast—you have about 10 seconds before it hardens.
Step 5: Stamp Your Shape Before the candy fully hardens (but after it’s set enough to hold its shape), gently press your cookie cutter into the surface. Don’t cut all the way through—just create an indentation.
Step 6: Cool and Challenge Let cool completely for 2-3 minutes. Then, using a needle or toothpick, try to extract the shape without breaking the candy. Good luck—you’ll need it for the umbrella!
FAQ
Why does my dalgona taste bitter?
You overcooked the sugar. The key is low heat and removing from heat the moment it turns light golden. Dark amber or brown sugar will result in bitter candy.
Why didn’t my dalgona puff up?
Either you added too little baking soda, or you didn’t stir vigorously enough after adding it. The reaction between the baking soda and the hot sugar creates the signature honeycomb texture.
Can I use brown sugar instead of white sugar?
White sugar is traditional and recommended. Brown sugar contains molasses, which affects the texture and makes the candy softer and chewier rather than crispy.
How long does dalgona last?
Dalgona is best eaten immediately. It will absorb moisture from the air and become sticky within hours. In humid weather, it may last only 30 minutes before getting tacky.
Is the umbrella shape really the hardest?
Yes. The umbrella has the most complex outline with thin sections (the handle) that break easily. In Squid Game, this wasn’t random—the difficulty was used to manipulate outcomes.
Did people really play this game in Korea?
Absolutely. The ppopgi challenge was a genuine childhood experience for millions of Koreans from the 1970s through 1990s. Street vendors would give free candy to winners—though the stakes were considerably lower than in Squid Game.
What happened to dalgona vendors after Squid Game?
Sales exploded globally. Korean vendors reported 2-3 times normal sales. New dalgona cafes opened in Seoul. The candy even appeared at McDonald’s Korea as a limited-time McFlurry flavor.
Make It Tonight
There’s something beautifully ironic about Squid Game’s dalgona scene. A show about capitalism’s cruelty turned a poor child’s candy into a global trend. The same snack that Korean kids bought for pocket change now appears in upscale cafes worldwide.
But at home, with just sugar and baking soda, you can experience what millions of Korean children knew: the simple joy of trying to beat the candy. No life-or-death stakes required.
오늘 밤, 오징어 게임 정주행하면서 직접 만든 달고나와 함께하는 건 어떨까요?
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Hero image: “Squid Game dalgona cookies” via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Part of our K-Drama Kitchen series—cooking the dishes that made us hungry while watching.
