Stocks related to the highly anticipated second season of Netflix's Korean original series "Squid Game" experienced a sharp drop, Friday, with some hitting their daily limit lows, after receiving negative reviews following its release the previous day.
According to the Korea Exchange, stocks of Artist United and Artist Studio both hit their daily limit lows, ending down 29.96 percent and 29.84 percent.
Lee Jung-jae, the lead actor of "Squid Game," is the controlling shareholder of these companies.
Shares of visual effects companies involved in the production, such as WYSIWYG Studios and DexterStudios, also saw significant declines of 25.31 percent and 24.08 percent.
Showbox, which invested in Siren Pictures, the producer of the series, also plummeted 19.16 percent.
The sequel to the explosive hit "Squid Game" was released on Netflix at 5 p.m., Thursday.
Due to the nature of theme stocks, the decline was attributed not only to the fading excitement but also to negative reviews overseas regarding Season 2.
In an article titled "Review: ‘Squid Game' Hits a Red Light in Season 2," The New York Times said the story was stagnant.
The Washington Post also reported that the sequel to the 2021 megahit "feels stylistically continuous but thematically flaccid."