Dalgona Candy Challenge — Hands in teal tracksuit using a needle to carve a star shape from an orange dalgona candy in a tin

Dalgona Candy Challenge

2021viral videodeclining

Published October 21, 2026

Dalgona Candy Challenge, also called ppopgi or honeycomb toffee, is a TikTok trend where participants try to carve a shape out of brittle Korean sugar candy with a needle, copying the deadly third round from Netflix's Squid Game. By late September 2021, TikToker @pattygurlz's cook-and-carve attempt had reached 13 million views on the platform.

challenge memes netflix memes tiktok sound trends food memes participatory video memes

Overview

Dalgona is a traditional Korean street candy made by melting white sugar with a pinch of baking soda into a tan disc, then stamping a shape into the center. In the challenge, players let the candy harden before trying to free the pattern without cracking it, usually with a sewing needle. Some players also lick the back of the disc to thin the edges, borrowing a trick seen in Squid Game's third episode3.

Clips tend to run two ways. Some creators film the full cook, pouring hot sugar onto parchment and stamping a triangle, circle, star or umbrella into the surface. Others skip straight to the extraction, usually set to the giant doll's Red Light, Green Light chant for dread-filled close-ups, and quick comedic skits spoofing the show's stakes also joined the trend6.

Origin & Background

Platform
Netflix (source scene) / TikTok (viral spread)
Date
2021

Squid Game premiered on Netflix on September 17th, 2021, directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk2. In the show's third episode, 108 contestants select one of four shapes stamped into dalgona candy and get ten minutes to free the shape with a needle without breaking it. Failing means death in the fiction. The task is drawn from a real Korean street-food game played by children, who win a second free candy from the vendor if their shape survives3.

How It Spread

On September 21st, 2021, four days after the show premiered, TikToker @pattygurlz posted one of the earliest viral attempts, filming her own candy cook followed by the needle extraction. The clip gathered more than 13 million views and 1.9 million likes in roughly a week1. Soon after, @ron_________boy23 filmed a comedic skit mimicking the contest atmosphere5, and @my.nth posted a cook-and-carve attempt of her own4.

Many clips used the "mugunghwa kkochi pieot seumnida" audio of the giant animatronic doll from the show's Red Light, Green Light scene, giving the extraction shots an eerie Korean countdown soundtrack6. YouTube compilations collected the most watched attempts as home cooks and food creators joined in with their own recipe walkthroughs6.

Timeline

2021-09-17

Squid Game premieres on Netflix, with the dalgona round appearing in episode three.

2021-09-21

TikToker @pattygurlz posts an early viral cook-and-carve attempt that will reach millions of views.

2021-09

Other TikTokers including @my.nth and @ron_________boy23 post their own cooking videos and comedic skits inspired by the scene.

2021-09-28

The @pattygurlz clip has gathered roughly 13 million views and 1.9 million likes within about a week of posting.

How to Use This Meme

To run the format, participants typically melt white sugar in a ladle or small pan, stir in a pinch of baking soda until the mix puffs up and turns tan, then pour it onto parchment. A cookie cutter presses the shape into the center as the candy cools. Once hard, the player uses a sewing needle, toothpick or a licked thumb to coax the pattern free, often within a self-imposed ten-minute window that matches the show's time limit.

Frequently Asked Questions