The nine-part series, which was produced in South Korea, has become a global sensation and Netflix's most-watched series. It follows 456 cash-strapped participants, including one who defected from North Korea, as they vie for $38 million in prize money by playing a series of traditional Korean children's games, only to discover that elimination from each round means death.
The show, which was released last month and is enormously popular in South Korea, also touched a nerve with its brutal representation of personal debt and the difficulty of repaying it in the country.
North Korea frequently attacks South Korean culture and capitalism, comparing it with its false portrayal of itself as an egalitarian state.