Squid Game made history at the 2022 Emmy Awards, becoming the first Korean series, and the first tv series not in English, to win a major Primetime Emmy Award. 

Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk won for drama series directing, for the Red Light, Green Light episode. He’s the first Asian and native Korean to win the award. When accepting the award, he expressed hope to see more non-English content at the Emmys. 

Lee Jung-jae, who plays Seong Gi-hun, the lead on Squid Game, also won an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He’s also the first Asian and native Korean to take home this prize. 

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While accepting the prize, he said “I’ve been an actor for three decades, and I feel like we go through a huge transition in terms of the industry every decade”, adding, “In the past, when we would create something Korean and take that overseas, we wanted them to see our story and our culture. And I think now … we are living in a world where there is abundant communication with anyone from all around the world, so I feel that if we feel truly in our hearts that something we made is great and very entertaining, that naturally translates overseas, and it is understood and enjoyed anywhere. Now I look forward to any great idea and working on it with a free creativity and free vision so that it can be enjoyed by many people all around the world.”

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Squid Game earned 14 nominations in July, and is among Netflix’s most-watched shows. It has already been renewed for a second season, and there is a reality show in the works too. Acknowledging the same, backstage, Hwang said, “I actually met with the creator yesterday, and they had many questions for me. What I hope is that they will be carrying on my vision and intention as much as possible for the show. I know that there are some concerns [over] taking the heavy [‘Squid Game’] message and creating it into a reality show with a cash prize. … I would say that reproductions … are going to bring new meaning to the industry, and I hope that this is going to be a great new direction for the industry overall”, as per Los Angeles Times.