SEOUL - The runaway success of K-drama Squid Game has catapulted the ensemble cast to international fame and their Instagram follower counts have exploded in recent weeks.

While the two male leads, Lee Jung-jae, 48, and Park Hae-soo, 39, only started their Instagram accounts over the weekend, they have already amassed 1.7 million and 960,000 followers respectively.

The breakout star of the Netflix series, model-turned-actress Jung Ho-yeon, 27, has been gaining close to a million followers daily since the show was released on Sept 17 and is currently the top South Korean actress on Instagram with 13.6 million followers.

Even those in smaller but memorable roles have shot to fame after the success of the series about a group of desperados forced to play deadly versions of childhood games.

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi, 32, who played fan favourite Ali, a Pakistani worker, posted a photo on Sunday (Oct 3) of him dressed in the recognisable green tracksuit from the show, overlaid with the words "2 million thank you".

Once an unknown bit actor in South Korea, he now has 2.3 million followers. In his caption, he wrote: "It feels amazing."

Actor Heo Sung-tae, 44, who played the remorseless gangster Deok-su, celebrated on Monday with a post that said: "Thank you for making me a millionaire" as his follower count crossed the one million mark. He currently has 1.1 million followers.

Relatively unknown actress Kim Joo-ryoung, who played the cunning Mi-nyeo, has had her follower count jump to 1.4 million.

The veteran actress, who is better known for her stage roles, has been sharing behind-the-scenes photos and memes, including one which features her hilariously over-the-top expressions.

Actor Wi Ha-joon, 30, who played a police officer infiltrating the game, was already popular before Squid Game, having been in K-dramas such as Something In The Rain (2018) and Romance Is A Bonus Book (2019).

From 300,000 followers before the show, he now has 5.8 million.