Los Angeles designates Sept. 17 ‘Squid Game Day’

The city of Los Angeles designated Sept. 17 as “Squid Game Day” to commemorate the massive influence Netflix Korea’s “Squid Game” has had on American pop culture.

Korean-American congressman John Lee announced on Wednesday that the city council passed the resolution appointing Sept. 17 as Squid Game Day.

The resolution emphasized that the series made history “by becoming the first Korean and first foreign language series to be nominated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, making history by bringing home three wins” and marks another victory “in the fight to grow representation of the AAPI [Asian American Pacific Islander] community in film and entertainment, exposing audiences to Korean culture and traditions while paving the way for other AAPI communities to also have their stories told.”

Sept. 17 was the date Netflix released the series worldwide last year.

Los Angeles city government will host a declaration ceremony on Friday in front of the city hall to celebrate the designation, which will be attended by Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, director Hwang Dong-hyuk, actor Lee Jung-jae and Kim Ji-yeon, the CEO of production company Siren Pictures behind the series. 

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]