The final season of “Squid Game” might be the last time Americans ever care about the Korean won

The final season of “Squid Game” was released on Friday, and continued its perfect track record of prompting Americans to do something generally quite out of character: show interest in another country.

Google Trends data shows that searches for “Korean won” spiked after the third season of Netflix’s hit show dropped, just as they did for seasons 1 and 2.

For reference, the brief period when martial law was declared in South Korea in early December 2024 is just the little upward wiggle you see in the chart prior to the release of the second season.

The first season of “Squid Game” was Netflix’s top show ever, with 1.65 billion hours spent watching in its first 28 days. Shares of the streaming giant are up 125% since that debut on September 17, 2021, versus a 39% rise for the S&P 500.

The macabre thriller still keeps its viewers turning from one screen to a smaller one to figure out how much Seong Gi-hun and his fellow competitors stand to make. Searches for “45.6 billion” — the total prize pool for “Squid Game” — also pop on the launch of every season.

These well-telegraphed spikes in demand create their own supply from outlets looking to game search engine optimization, which, like “Squid Game,” is a perilous endeavor that has claimed the live(lihood)s of many journalists.

…and to answer your question, it’s about $33.6 million.