It’s been quite a year for Hwang Dong-hyuk. The Squid Game creator has been quite busy in the past year after the release of his hit thriller on Netflix last September, campaigning the show for nomination after nomination in various awards. Currently, Squid Game is nominated for a total of fourteen Primetime Emmy nominations, including best drama and best actor. These would be the first nominations for a non-Western and non-English-language show in the award’s history. The Hollywood Reporter recently sat down with the producer, screenwriter, and director on his current affairs.
According to the interview, Dong-hyuk learned of the nominations at 12:30 in the morning from Jeju Island in South Korea, where he is currently writing the script for season two. The director stated that he was both nervous and excited for the outcome of the nominations. Dong-hyuk commented on the road to here and now for his passion project.
This long journey that Squid Game has been on is like a dream. Nobody wanted to make it back in 2009 when I was first writing the script and there was no investor, but now we have 14 nominations at the Emmy Awards, which is the most prestigious award in the U.S., and I am nominated for both writing and directing. For me, this is more dramatic than [protagonist] Gi-hun winning the Squid Game. It’s like a miracle.
When asked about which of the fourteen nominations he was the most proud of. Dong-hyuk stated that while he was proud of all of the nominations, he was the most happy for Park Hae-soo’s nomination for supporting actor. He was very happy for Hae-soo, and was overjoyed to see his performance being recognized. Dong-hyuk was then asked about Bong Joon Ho, director of the critically acclaimed Korean film Parasite, and had this to say when asked if the two had ever crossed paths.
I actually met up with director Bong a few times and got some advice from him. He told me how draining the process of Oscar campaigning was. He was actually sick at that time — he thinks it might have been COVID — but he had to do all the campaigning. Director Bong was preparing for his next project, and he told me that working on his script and getting away from the Oscars campaign was how he healed himself. He told me, “You’re going to get healing by preparing for the next [project].”
The Lasting Themes of Squid Game
It’s been quite the long road for Dong-hyuk and his team, which is a lot to say considering that when he initially pitched the show, executives were claiming his themes were unrealistic and that nobody would agree. He went on to say that the events of the past decade, with the war, inflation, and the further extension between upper and lower classes has made the concept of a Squid Game more appealing to the average Joe. When asked about his plans for season two, and if the themes were going to cover the reception of the first season, Dong-hyuk went into detail.
I’ve seen many reactions from people about the show, but I don’t want to make season two as a response to those reactions. The philosophies I put in season one all naturally extend to season two. Instead of trying to meet the expectations of viewers, I just thought about the last moment when Gi-hun turned away from boarding the plane, and I thought about what he will do next. There will naturally be a flow of events that will lead all the way to the end of the season. I can’t share any details yet, but you know that Seong Gi-hun has become a totally new person by the end of season one, so season two is going to be about what that new Gi-hun is going to do and how things will unfold with this new kind of character.
The director also commented on Netflix’s other plans for his show, specifically the actual Squid Game: The Challenge, which re-creates the challenges for real contestants.
The creators are trying to stay true to the show, so they’re asking us for the diagrams for the set design or the attire to make sure it really resembles the actual Squid Game.