Director Hwang Dong-hyuk of Squid Game Receives 'PonyJeong Innovation Award'

A scene from "Ojingeo Game"

The PonyJeong Foundation announced on the 11th that director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the screenwriter and director of the drama "Squid Game," has been selected as the recipient of the 16th "PonyJeong Innovation Award."

The PonyJeong Foundation stated, "Hwang Dong-hyuk's 2021-directed Squid Game was watched by over 140 million people worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing work in Netflix history. Moreover, it instantly brought Korean content to the center of the global market, completely changing the landscape of the Korean content industry."

They added, "The contribution to expanding the status and scope of the Korean content industry is significant, as it accurately captured universal themes through the most Korean subject matter. We expect the infinite expansion of the Korean content industry through his ongoing creative activities."

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk

The award ceremony is scheduled to be held on June 15th at PonyJeong Hall on the first floor of I-Park Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who debuted in 2005 with the film "My Father," was born in 1971, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, and earned a master's degree in Film Production from the University of Southern California.

He directed socially critical films such as "Silenced" (2011), fantasy comedy family film "Miss Granny" (2014), and historical film "The Fortress" (2017).

In 2021, through Squid Game, he won the 31st Gotham Awards' "Best New Series," the 7th People's Choice Awards' "Binge-Watching Show of the Year," and the 27th Critics' Choice Awards' "Best Foreign Language Series." At the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards held on May 6th, he won the Grand Prize (Squid Game) and the Directing Award in the TV category. He is also considered a strong contender for the Emmy Awards, the largest TV awards ceremony in Hollywood, scheduled for October this year.

Meanwhile, the PonyJeong Innovation Award was established in 2006, named after the late Chung Se-young, the founder of Hyundai Motor Company and Honorary Chairman of HDC Group (formerly Hyundai Development Company), whose nickname was "PONY 鄭 (PonyJeong)." The award is given to individuals or organizations that have brought positive change to Korean society through innovative thinking, with a prize of 200 million KRW and a trophy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.