As with "Squid Game": controversial game show raises many questions
China - In China , unscrupulous profiteers are organizing their very own version of the "Squid Game". Those who lose don't have to die, but that doesn't make the spectacle any less dramatic.
In the "self-discipline challenge", candidates are isolated from the outside world for weeks, filmed around the clock and have to adhere to strict rules.
Those who persevere to the end can win a small fortune. However, the entry fees are dizzyingly high and the conditions are completely opaque, reported the daily newspaper Yangcheng Evening Post.
The challenge varies from provider to provider. In some cases, candidates have to do without "all electronic devices", including flicking the light switch. In other cases, participants are only allowed to look at their cell phone for a maximum of three seconds and only let it charge for a maximum of ten seconds.
The "registration fee" is usually the equivalent of 800 to 1200 euros. For this, the participants have to be locked up for 26 to 35 days.
What's particularly bad is that those who don't read the small print are sometimes out of luck. Disappointed participants report that "nudity" is expressly forbidden. Anyone who shows skin while sleeping, for example, has to get out immediately. It is also forbidden to sleep during the day, as the candidates are supposed to go to bed "on time".
In some cases, the organizers of the Befremdlich-Challenge are said to have handed out alcohol and cigarettes - but those who take it will be thrown out.
Pictures: This challenge pushes participants to their limits
"Self-discipline challenge": unemployed person fails three times
In one case, an organizer offered participants the prospect of around 400,000 yuan (around 53,000 euros) if they allowed themselves to be locked in a room alone for around 35 days. The only condition: The candidates must not cover their faces.
A man named Zhang was also hoping to win, reports the Beijing Daily News.
The unemployed man borrowed the entry fee of 6900 yuan (917 euros), traveled to the venue in the Chinese hinterland and had himself locked up. But Zhang failed. On the very first day, he rubbed his eyes and was promptly disqualified because his face was covered for three seconds.
A few days later, Zhang came back, borrowed money again and failed on the second day of the challenge. This time, Zhang wanted to make his bed and turned his back to the camera. He had a "gambler's mentality", signed up for the third time with borrowed money - and failed again. This time, a beer can covered his face as he trained in the barren room, he laments.
Zhang now knows: "This is cheating. The rules seem simple, but it's impossible to succeed." He has since sued the organizer.