Recently released, Round 6 has become one of the most popular South Korean series on Netflix , ranking at the top of the most watched productions ranking in several countries. With international acclaim came an accusation of plagiarism as well. Netizens pointed out great similarities between Round 6 and “As the Gods Will”, a popular Japanese film with a similar theme.
Only one of the 465 participants wins the jackpot. In this scenario marked by betrayal, ambition and many dangers, all competitors do everything to secure the prize. After all, the Squid Game only invites people who really need money, which brings a greater level of desperation to the competition.
The Yahoo! News revealed everything fans need to know about the Round 6 plagiarism allegation on Netflix ; see below.
Round 6 – Japanese film plagiarism?
It all started when netizens on Twitter noticed great similarities between the Round 6 series and “As the Gods Will”, a popular Japanese film released in 2014, which also has dangerous games at the center of its plot.
A Twitter user pointed out that the first game in the series uses the same rules and punishments as As the Gods Will.
The game in the Japanese movie is “daruma”, and the one in Round 6 is called “Red Light, Green Light”, based on the traditional Korean joke “Hibiscus Flowers Bloomed”.
“In both games, a ‘searcher’ stares at a wall or tree for a short period of time, before suddenly turning around and trying to capture any other player who moves,” said the internet user on the social network.
The difference between Round 6 and As the Gods Will is that players in the series get shot, and players in the movie have their heads blown off.
The Twitter user also posted footage of similar scenes from the two productions, including close-ups of giant dolls, the timer and a scene in which characters save themselves at the last moment.
Another Round 6 game , which involves participants jumping on glass tiles, is supposedly inspired by the manga version of As the Gods Will.
At a press conference, showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk spoke about allegations of plagiarism, claiming that he created the plot for Round 6 long before the Japanese film’s premiere.
“The first game is similar, that’s true. But there aren’t that many similarities. I produced the plot for Round 6 between 2008 and 2009, and at the time I chose ‘Red Light, Green Light’ as the first game,” said the producer.
In fact, Hwang claimed that he “created the story first”, implying that As God Will is the real plagiarist.