Squid Game invades Lalaport BBCC with giant dolls and fan challenges for final season premiere
KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Before it became Lalaport Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), the site was home to the infamous Pudu Jail. Now, for this weekend only, the iconic location will host a mini 'Squid Game' themed arena in conjunction with the premiere of the Netflix series' final season.
The Lalaport Plaza Entrance, near the water fountain, has been transformed into a vibrant homage to the hit series. Towering over the event are two 22-foot dolls: the infamous Young-hee and her counterpart Cheol-su, who first appeared in the post-credit scene of Season 2.
Both dolls will preside over a game of 'Jumping Ropes,' inviting visitors to participate. Fans can also immerse themselves in life-sized recreations of iconic backdrops from the show, including a giant Dalgona cookie with a unique Malaysian twist and a Biseokchigi or 'Flying Stone' game set.
Members of the public are encouraged to dress as their favourite Squid Game characters, creating their own Player 456-inspired memories.
The life-sized Biseokchigi or the 'Flying Stone' game backdrop. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
Event Details
The 'Jumping Rope' game will run across multiple sessions:
• Friday, June 27: 2pm to 3pm and 5pm to 7pm.
• Weekend, June 28-29: 10am to 11am, in addition to the Friday timings.
Eligibility to Participate:
Participants must be 18 years old and above.
Participants must be legal residents of Malaysia.
Registration via the official Google Form is mandatory.
Employees and partners of the organising parties are ineligible to win prizes.
Since its debut on Netflix in 2021, Squid Game has become a global sensation. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
Netflix Malaysia previously brought the Squid Game experience to the Ampang Park MRT station for the Season 2 premiere.
The final season picks up after Season 2's intense cliffhanger, as Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) grapples with overwhelming despair. The Squid Game spares no one, forcing him and the surviving players into even deadlier contests that test their resolve.
Since its debut on Netflix in 2021, Squid Game has become a global sensation. The show holds the record as Netflix's number-one non-English language series of all time, with its second season ranking as the streaming platform's third-biggest TV show season ever, garnering 192.6 million views.
The final season of Squid Game is now streaming on Netflix.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
‘Just another human being': Dalai Lama's enduring grace, in his translator's words
NEW DELHI, June 28 — With his flowing red monk's robes, beaming smile and contagious laugh, the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, has been the charismatic global face of his people's cause for decades. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk, Tenzin Gyatso, is expected to celebrate his 90th birthday on July 6 with huge crowds in northern India, his base since leaving his homeland fleeing Chinese troops in 1959. While China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a 'simple Buddhist monk'. Thupten Jinpa, his translator of nearly four decades, described a man who uses humour to calm, fierce intellect to debate, and combines self-discipline with tolerance of others. 'He's never deluded by being extraordinary,' said Jinpa, an eminent Buddhist scholar born in Tibet. The Dalai Lama treats those he meets in the same manner whether they are a president or a peasant, world leader or Hollywood star. 'When he's getting ready to go and see a president or a prime minister, everybody around him is all getting nervous he's just completely relaxed,' said Jinpa, who is now a professor at Montreal's McGill University. 'Once I asked him how is it that he's not nervous, and he said, basically, 'the person I'm meeting is just another human being, just like me!'' 'Self-confidence and humility' Despite being revered as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, a role stretching back more than 600 years, he does not act with a sense of superiority. 'He is one of the most self-confident people I've ever met in my life,' Jinpa said. 'Self-confidence and humility generally don't go together that well, but in him, they sit beautifully.' Jinpa highlighted the Dalai Lama's ability to bring people together through his 'contagious' sense of humour and famous giggling 'individual laugh'. 'He uses humour immediately, so he has this ability to make you feel at ease.' But the translator also described a man who applied the rigorous education and skills of philosophical debate learned as a monk to address the challenges of a complex world. 'He's gone through a formal academic training,' said Jinpa, who himself studied as a monk and holds a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. 'So when he's sitting down with scientists and philosophers and thinkers in deep conversation, his ability to get to the gist, and ask the question that points towards the next challenge, is an amazing display of his focus.' Jinpa described a man who pursues an austere monastic life with 'very high discipline'. 'He gets up at 3:30am and has meditation. He doesn't eat after lunch, which is one of the precepts of monastic ethics,' he said. 'He has always maintained this strictly.' While he was born to a farming family, the Dalai Lama grew up in Lhasa's Potala Palace, a vast building reputed to have 1,000 rooms. Since then he has spent much of his life in a hilltop monastic complex in India's town of McLeod Ganj. 'His bedroom is actually a small corridor between two large rooms, doors on the two sides, and a three-by-six single bed attached to the wall, and next to it is a shower cubicle — and that's it,' Jinpa said. 'He has got his photographs of his gurus, teachers, above his bed — very simple.' 'Non-judgement' But the Dalai Lama balances that toughness towards himself with softness for those he meets. 'Generally, when people are more pious, more disciplined, more pure, they also tend to be less tolerant,' Jinpa said. 'A lot of the intolerance really comes from puritanism in the world, whether it's religious or ideology,' he added. 'But again, in him, this understanding and non-judgement towards others — and expectation of a high standard for himself — it sits beautifully.' Jinpa added that as the holder of a centuries-old institution, the Dalai Lama places his people before himself. 'In all the negotiations that he has had with China, he has constantly made the point that the issue is not about his return, or his status,' he said. 'The issue is about the Tibetan people — there are over six million of us,' said Jinpa. 'Their ability to be self-governing on the Tibetan plateau, which is their historical home, and their ability to exist with dignity as a distinct people within the People's Republic of China.' — AFP
Malay Mail
15 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Chua Lam, legendary Hong Kong food critic and filmmaker, dies at 83
KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — Renowned food critic, columnist, and film producer Chua Lam, celebrated as one of the 'Four Talents of Hong Kong,' passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83, according to the South China Morning Post. A statement on his official Facebook page confirmed his death at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, surrounded by family and friends. Per his wishes, no ceremony was held, and his body was cremated to avoid inconveniencing loved ones. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), born in Singapore in 1941, Chua's illustrious career spanned multiple fields, leaving a lasting mark on Hong Kong's cultural and culinary landscapes. At just 14, he published his first article in Nanyang Siang Pau. He later moved to Japan to study film and settled in Hong Kong in 1963, where he worked with iconic studios like Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest. Among his notable film productions were Jackie Chan's Wheels on Meals, Armour of God, and Mr Nice Guy. Chua was a celebrated figure in food journalism, known for his discerning palate and dedication to uncovering the finest culinary experiences. He authored numerous travel journals and food critiques and hosted acclaimed shows such as Celebrity Talk Show, which featured Hong Kong's biggest stars of the era, including Leslie Cheung and Maggie Cheung. SCMP in its report said that in addition to his columns and books, Chua organised culinary tours across Asia and the world, sampling multiple dishes daily to identify and recommend the best local specialities. His influence extended to consulting on popular food documentaries such as A Bite of China and Once Upon a Bite. Despite personal challenges, including a severe hip injury and the loss of his wife in recent years, Chua continued to inspire through his reflections on life and food. His final memoir, Lived, released earlier this year, shared his vibrant experiences, resilience, and deep appreciation for gastronomy. According to the report, Chua's contributions earned him a place among the 'Four Talents of Hong Kong,' alongside literary and cultural giants Jin Yong, Ni Kuang, and James Wong. His legacy continues to shape the city's cultural and culinary heritage, marking the end of an era in Hong Kong's entertainment and food scene.
The Star
19 hours ago
- The Star
Squid Game S3 pulls out all the stops as Player 456 faces off with the Front Man
Actor Lee Byung-hun says his character in Squid Game – known as Front Man – has 'zero hope' in the current state of the world and especially in humanity. 'He believes in the utter loss of humanity,' Lee tells StarLifestyle in an exclusive Zoom interview. 'That's why he keeps pushing Gi-hun (Player 456, portrayed by Lee Jung-jae) to give up on humanity and to fail in his attempt to break the system.' Lee is dialling in from Seoul, South Korea, to talk to the Asian press about the hit series' third and final season, streaming on Netflix. Season 3 picks up exactly where Season 2 left off – with Gi-hun's rebellion failing disastrously and many of the players who followed him dead, including his best friend. Meanwhile, the Front Man – who infiltrated the game as Player 001 in the second season – is now back behind the mask to meddle in the surviving players' choices as each round results in gruesome deaths. All the while, keeping a close watch on how Gi-hun is reacting to what's happened. Byung-hun, 54, explains why the Front Man is so fixated on Gi-hun: 'On the one hand, the Front Man is trying to break Gi-hun's spirit and have him, you know, fall apart. 'On the other hand, I think he strangely has this underlying envy or jealousy towards him that he is doing something that he himself couldn't do in the past... 'The Front Man sees himself in Gi-hun. That's why he's so invested.' The Front Man has zero empathy, says actor Lee Byung-hun. At the start of the new season, Gi-hun – the sole survivor and previous winner – discovers that nothing he's done so far has brought an ounce of change in his bid to stop the deadly competition forever. Worse, the game that pits financially strapped, desperate people continues as before, with the players either killing each other or getting killed in order to win large amounts of cash. At a press conference held in Seoul and live-streamed to Malaysian and Singaporean media, Jung-jae shares what's in store for his character in the final season. 'Witnessing the death of his friend, as well as failing to save a lot of the players in the game, Gi-hun is overwhelmed by guilt and despair,' the Emmy-nominated actor says. But with the game still in play, the 52-year-old actor adds: 'Gi-hun must decide what he really needs to do. You'll see his character evolve from there'. As Gi-hun makes his next move, the Front Man – who's watching him closely – comes up with a counterplan. Byung-hun, describing S3 as 'extremely dramatic and intense' at the press conference, adds: 'If you see S2 and S3 as one continuous storyline, I believe the true climax lies in S3. 'In many ways, it's the ultimate showdown between these two characters.' Gi-hun is overwhelmed by despair at the start of S3. Of course, Squid Game wouldn't be what it is without its 'twisted and fatal' versions of childhood games. As seen in the Season 2 post-credit scene and trailers for the third season, one of the featured games is a deadly jump rope challenge involving fan-favourite doll Young-hee and a new deadly doll, Cheol-su. Director-writer Hwang Dong-hyuk, 54, hints further as to what new challenges are in S3. 'As you may have seen in the main trailer, there's a game involving a rotating jump rope that's suspended high above the ground, and there's a bridge. Some players fall when the rope reaches them. 'There's also a maze-like space where players wear blue and red vests, playing what resembles a game of hide-and-seek. "There may be other types of games happening within that space as well,' he lets on. Of course, once again, Hwang uses these childhood games as metaphors for modern capitalist society and its underlying conflicts. He also reveals why he introduced Cheol-su this time around: 'Young-hee and Cheol-su are always paired together in our elementary school textbooks – they are best friends. 'So if we were going to have another season, I wanted both of them to appear, especially in a game. 'I wanted the global audience to know that it's not just Young-hee; there's also a boy character named Cheol-su. That's why I added him to Squid Game S3.' Mechanical doll Young-hee is singing a different tune in S3 and has a new friend too. Hwang confirms there are no current plans for another season of Squid Game, stating the final chapter will feel complete. That said, he's open to exploring more stories within the Squid Game universe if such an opportunity arises. 'Sometimes, as I'm writing, I get curious – what were these characters up to over the years? What were their lives like outside the game? 'That curiosity makes me want to explore more, which is why I've thought about doing spin-offs,' Hwang says of the series that premiered in 2021 and quickly became a global phenomenon. The first season of Squid Game remains as one of Netflix's most popular shows, garnering 265 million views. Its second season, which was released in December 2024, made it to the streamer's global Most Popular Non-English TV list in just three days and has had 193 million views. Calling the Squid Game journey as 'a miracle', Hwang says: 'Everyone wants to have a successful career and a project, but nobody would have expected this much success from one project. "Over the past five years, I've had many meaningful experiences – going overseas, winning awards, meeting fans – but what I cherish most is the time spent on set with these incredible actors. "Working with them helped me grow both as a person and a creator," surmises Hwang. Director Hwang Hwang Dong-hyuk (centre) calls his 'Squid Game' journey as a miracle as it allowed him to grow creatively. Both Jung-jae and Byung-hun agree they're proud to be part of a layered show that tackles humanity, capitalism and social inequality, while delivering rich characters. 'Whenever I meet fans – whether in Korea or abroad – they each have their own personal reason for loving the show. "And they root for different characters based on who they connect with, which often depends on their personal circumstances,' says Jung-jae. Byung-hun adds: "I think Squid Game resonates globally because, even though it's rooted in Korean elements – like the childhood games we all grew up with – it deals with universal themes. 'It's about conflict, competition and, most of all, the absence of humanity. No matter where you're from, those ideas hit close to home. 'It makes you think about the world we live in, and how we can make it better." Squid Game Season Three premieres on Netflix on June 27.
