# Dalgona Candy Challenge 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. ## Origin Squid Game premiered on Netflix on September 17th, 2021, directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk[2]. 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 survives[3]. - **Platform:** Netflix (source scene) / TikTok (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2021 ## 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 episode[3]. 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 trend[6]. ## How to Use 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 ### What is Dalgona Candy Challenge? Dalgona Candy Challenge is a TikTok trend where participants carve a shape out of Korean honeycomb toffee with a needle, copying the task from episode three of Netflix's Squid Game[3]. ### Where did Dalgona Candy Challenge come from? It grew out of the September 17th, 2021 Squid Game premiere[2], with TikToker @pattygurlz posting one of the first viral attempts four days later[1]. ### What does Dalgona Candy Challenge mean? Dalgona is the Korean sugar-and-baking-soda street candy, also called ppopgi or honeycomb toffee, and the challenge means freeing the imprinted shape intact within a time limit, as @pattygurlz's demonstration shows[1]. ### How do you use Dalgona Candy Challenge? Players melt sugar with baking soda, stamp a shape into the hot disc, let it harden, then try to pry the pattern loose with a needle, often while the show's Red Light, Green Light audio plays over the clip[6]. ### Is Dalgona Candy Challenge still popular? Interest spiked in late 2021 alongside Squid Game's first-season rollout and tapered off afterward, with @pattygurlz's clip still cited at over 13 million views as a benchmark of that moment[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.tiktok.com/@pattygurlz/video/7010601823014767898]() 2. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid_Game]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dalgona-candy-challenge]() 4. [https://www.tiktok.com/@my.nth/video/7010709259633675546]() 5. [https://www.tiktok.com/@ron_________boy23/video/7010672118912306459]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbxrCptRZ6k]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/dalgona-candy-challenge Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library