First Non-English Series... 'Ogam' Wins Emmy Awards for Directing and Leading Actor

'Squid Game' Watched by 140 Million Households Worldwide Over 4 Weeks
Hwang Dong-hyuk and Lee Jung-jae Win Trophies at the 74th Emmy Awards
Changed Status Already Began with US Entry... Accelerated by OTT Platforms

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk's beginnings were not smooth. His film "My Father" (2007) attracted only 900,000 viewers. The failure of his next project led to financial hardship. He survived day by day with bank loans. Even the people appearing on television news were in despair?workers of Ssangyong Motor Company. Director Hwang did not see it as someone else's problem. He deeply felt the harsh realities of capitalism, where an ordinary office worker could suddenly fall to the bottom of society. A survival game came to mind. It was "Squid Game."

The script, born in the shadows, was met with lukewarm reactions from the film and broadcasting industry. Everyone dismissed it as a ridiculous fantasy. More than ten years later, after being produced as a Netflix original series, the response was completely different. "Squid Game" was released on September 17 last year and was watched by 142 million households over four weeks. Games like "Mugunghwa Flower Has Bloomed" became popular worldwide, and green tracksuits and dalgona candy sets sold like hotcakes. On the 9th, the Los Angeles City Council even declared September 17 as "Squid Game Day."

A work that caused a global sensation could not be overlooked by North America's most prestigious popular culture awards. "Squid Game" received fourteen nominations across thirteen categories at the 74th Emmy Awards. At the Creative Arts Emmys held on the 4th (local time), it won four awards including Guest Actress (Lee Yoo-mi), Visual Effects (Jung Jae-hoon), Stunt Coordination (Lim Tae-hoon), and Production Design (Chae Kyung-sun). At the Primetime Emmys on the 12th, Director Hwang won Best Director, and Lee Jung-jae won Best Actor. It truly opened a new horizon for Korean content.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The changed status was already sensed through actors' entry into Hollywood. It dates back to 1997. Park Joong-hoon opened the door with "American Dragon" (1998), and Jang Dong-gun and Jun Ji-hyun appeared in "Warriors Way" (2010) and "Blood" (2009), respectively. Rain expanded his activities by starring in "Ninja Assassin" (2009). The responses were lukewarm across the board. Roles influenced by prejudice against Asians and complacent storylines made it difficult to showcase their appeal.

Under adverse conditions, Lee Byung-hun achieved some success through steady effort. Starting with "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009), he appeared in "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" (2013), "Red: The Legend" (2013), "Misconduct" (2016), and "The Magnificent Seven" (2016). However, he did not encounter roles that allowed him to fully demonstrate his acting skills as he did in Korea. Therefore, he often declined offers, including prequel projects of globally successful works.

With the advent of online video services (OTT), the walls of borders have crumbled, and freedom of expression has expanded further. A representative example is Lee Jung-jae in "Squid Game." He portrayed Seong Gi-hun, who suddenly falls from grace in capitalist society. He represents ordinary people who gradually lose their jobs and families, as he becomes unable to see his daughter, who is about to settle in the United States with her mother and stepfather.

Every movement contains moral questions. They reflect the inhumane aspects of today's world, uncontrolled deviations of capitalism, an unending nightmare, and a dream hoping for humanity to bloom brightly in a hopeless situation. French philosopher Olivier Dillies described this in his book "The Philosophy of Squid Game" as follows:

"The violence experienced in a parallel universe may be completely different from the violence actually experienced in the real world. In this universe outside the world, the opportunity to escape reality seems equal, and there is always a chance to return to the game or not."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Lee Jung-jae recently agreed to star in the new "Star Wars" series "Acolyte," produced by Lucasfilm for Disney+. There are also rumors that his salary for the second season of "Squid Game" has increased several times. This phenomenon is not happening to him alone. Ma Dong-seok and Park Seo-joon participated in Marvel series "Eternals" and "The Marvels," respectively. Jung Ho-yeon, who rose to stardom through "Squid Game," was also cast in leading roles in Alfonso Cuar?n's drama "Disclaimer" and the film "The Governess," based on the novel of the same name.

Lee Byung-hun said, "I definitely feel the change in the perspective toward our content. Its influence is growing beyond imagination," and offered this advice: "This is a very important and delicate time. If you try to compete with quantity over quality at such a time, you may face another trial and error. It is a basic but true answer to compete with truly careful and good works."

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