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Hwang Dong-hyuk is a South Korean film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is well-known for directing and creating the popular Netflix South Korean survival drama series ‘Squid Game.’ In 2022, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time.
Wiki/Biography
Hwang Dong-hyuk was born on Wednesday, 26 May 1971 (age 52 years; as of 2023) in Seoul, South Korea. His zodiac sign is Gemini. When he was studying in school and college, he used to read manhwa and manga comic books for hours at comic book cafes. He did B.A. in communications at the Seoul National University in Seoul. When he completed his graduation, he wrote and directed several short films. Later, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in film production from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. While studying film production, his graduation thesis film was ‘Miracle Mile’ (2004), a short film, which was screened at more than 40 international film festivals and won many awards such as the DGA Student Film Award and Student Emmy Award.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
He lost his father at a young age. He grew up with his mother and grandmother.
Wife
There is not much information about his marital status.
Relationships/Affairs
In an interview, he revealed that he was once in a relationship.
Signature/Autograph
Hwang Dong-hyuk’s autograph on the poster of ‘Squid Game’
Career
Director
Short Film
In 2000, he debuted as a director with the South Korean short film ‘Our Sad Life,’ which he directed while studying at Seoul National University. He directed many short films in 2000 including ‘A Puff of Smoke,’ ‘Desperation,’ and ‘Heaven & Hell.’
Poster of the short film ‘Desperation’ released in 2000
Film
In 2007, he made his feature film debut with the South Korean film ‘My Father’ based on a true story.
Poster of the 2007 South Korean film ‘My Father’
In 2011, he hit the spotlights after directing the popular South Korean film ‘Silenced,’ starring Gong Yoo, based on the novel ‘The Crucible’ by Gong Ji-young. The film depicts real-life events that took place at the Gwangju Inhwa School, a school for the deaf, where young students were treated cruelly and abused sexually by their teachers and administrators. In an interview, while talking about directing the film, he shared that he took one month to decide whether to direct the film or not; however, he ultimately decided to do it. He said,
I hesitated because it was based on a true story. Ironically, though, I decided to go through with it because it dealt with a true incident. It had to be told. I thought about two things when making this film. First, I wanted to let the world know about this horrific incident. Secondly, I wanted to expose the structural problems of society as revealed during the process of how the case was buried. The scenes of sexual violence and the morbid, unhappy ending were therefore inevitable. I was greatly interested in social issues as an undergraduate so I would often take part in demonstrations. I took up filmmaking because I was so frustrated by all these unresolved social issues I saw.”
In 2014, he directed a comedy-drama film titled ‘Miss Granny.’ In 2017, he directed the notable South Korean historical drama film titled ‘The Fortress,’ which was based on the novel ‘Namhansanseong’ by Kim Hoon.
Television
In 2021, he directed the internationally acclaimed South Korean TV series ‘Squid Game.’ The TV series was released on Netflix on 17 September 2021 and became the most-watched series launch in the history of Netflix.
Hwang Dong-hyuk while directing ‘Squid Game’
Writer
Short Film
In 2000, he debuted as a writer with the short film ‘Our Sad Life.’ He has written many short films including ‘A Puff of Smoke’ (2000), ‘Desperation’ (2000), and ‘Miracle Mile’ (2004).
A still from the 2004 short film ‘Miracle Mile’
Film
He has written the scripts for many South Korean films including ‘My Father’ (2007), ‘Silenced’ (2011), and ‘The Fortress’ (2017).
Television
He initially wrote the script for Squid Game in 2009, however, he struggled to find a production studio willing to support the project. In 2019, Netflix, as part of its effort to expand its foreign programming, invested in the series and provided the necessary support for its production. He came up with the idea for Squid Game by drawing inspiration from his own early-life economic struggles and class differences prevalent in South Korea. In an interview, while talking about it he said,
I was very financially straitened because my mother retired from the company she was working for. There was a film I was working on but we failed to get finance. So I couldn’t work for about a year. We had to take out loans – my mother, myself and my grandmother.”
Producer
In 2000, he debuted as a producer with the short film ‘Desperation.’ In 2020, he produced the South Korean heist caper story film ‘Collectors.’
Awards, Honours, Achievements
Awards
- 2012: Audience Award for the 2011 South Korean film ‘Silenced’ at the Udine Far East Film Festival
- 2012: Black Dragon Audience Award for the film ‘Silenced’ at the Udine Far East Film Festival
- 2017: Best Screenplay Award for the South Korean film ‘The Fortress’ at the Blue Dragon Awards
- 2017: Best Director Award for the film ‘The Fortress’ at the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards
- 2018: Best Director Award for the film ‘The Fortress’ at the Chunsa Film Art Awards
- 2021: Film Artist Award at the Beautiful Artist Awards by Shin Young-kyun Arts and Culture Foundation
- 2021: Breakthrough Series – Long Form Award at the Gotham Awards
Hwang Dong-hyuk after receiving the Gotham Award
- 2021: Received Visionary Award
- 2022: Best Director Award for the South Korean TV series ‘Squid Game’ at the Baeksang Arts Awards
- 2022: Director Award for the TV series ‘Squid Game’ at the Critics Choice Awards (Asian Pacific Cinema & Television)
- 2022: Best Director in series for ‘Squid Game’ at the Director’s Cut Awards
- 2022: Best Screenplay in series for ‘Squid Game’ at the Director’s Cut Awards
- 2022: Stepping Stone Award at the Korea Image Awards
- 2022: Pony Chung Innovation Award at the Pony Chung Foundation Innovation Awards
- 2022: Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the episode ‘Red Light, Green Light’ from the TV series ‘Squid Game’ at the Primetime Emmy Awards
Hwang Dong-hyuk with Primetime Emmy Award
Honours
- 2022: Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit in South Korea for his contribution to culture and arts
Hwang Dong-hyuk after being honoured with the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit
Achievements
- 2021: Listed on ’50 People of the Year’ list by Bloomberg Businessweek
- 2022: ‘The Straits Times Asian of the Year’ by The Straits Times (Singapore)
- 2022: Listed on ‘The 100 Most Influential People of 2022’ list by Time 100
Facts/Trivia
- Hwang Dong-hyuk is the first South Korean to win a Primetime Emmy Award in the ‘Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series’ category.
- He is an avid comic book reader and finds relief at comic book cafes in Seoul. In an interview, while talking about this hobby of his, and how he got influenced for making ‘Squid Game,’ he said,
I read Battle Royal and Liar Game and other survival game comics. I related to the people in them, who were desperate for money and success. That was a low point in my life. If there was a survival game like this in reality, I wondered, would I join it to make money for my family? I realised that, since I was a filmmaker, I could put my own touch to these kinds of stories so I started on the script.”
- According to Hwang, when he was working on ‘Squid Game,’ his main aim was to rank No 1 on the Netflix US chart for at least a day.
- When he was creating, writing, and directing the popular TV series ‘Squid Game,’ he went through so much stress that he lost six of his teeth in the process. In an interview, while talking about it, he said,
It was physically, mentally and emotionally draining. I kept having new ideas and revising the episodes as we were filming so the amount of work multiplied.”
- ‘Squid Game’ was a massive hit and earned £650 million for Netflix; however, Hwang allegedly did not receive any benefit from the success of the show. In an interview, he talked about his contract with Netflix and said,
I’m not that rich. But I do have enough. I have enough to put food on the table. And it’s not like Netflix is paying me a bonus. Netflix paid me according to the original contract.”
- After the success of ‘Squid Game,’ Netflix released Hwang’s previous films, including ‘Silenced,’ ‘Miss Granny,’ and ‘The Fortress’ on its platform and made them available for viewers in the United States and other countries.
- In 2021, one of the most popular YouTubers in the world, MrBeast, created a real-life version of ‘Squid Game.’