‘Squid Game’ Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk Adds Directing Emmy To Show’s Historic Haul

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk won an Emmy on Monday for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, the latest win for the Korean-language drama that became Netflix’s most-watched series ever.

The series won six Emmys overall from 14 nominations (the most ever by a non-English-language series), capped Monday when Lee Jung-jae won for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series.

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Hwang, who won for directing the “Red Light, Green Light” episode of Season 1, mentioned the series’ records in his acceptance speech.

“A huge thank you to Netflix and Ted Sarandos — I mentioned your name,” he joked, pointing and smiling at the Netflix exec in the crowd at the Microsoft Theater. “Since Squid Game got put in nomination at the Emmys, people have keep telling me that I made history. But I don’t think that I made history by myself. Because it was you who opened up the doors for Squid Game — I have to say we made all history together.”

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He added: “I truly hope this won’t be the last non-English series to be here at the Emmys. And I also hope this won’t be my last Emmy either.”

Squid Game’s modest start is now well known: Hwang wrote it as a feature script in 2008 centered on a group of desperate people playing a game of life or death. Ten years later, his idea was pitched as a series to Netflix. The result: 1.65 billion views in the first four weeks after its premiere.

Hwang was also up for the Writing Emmy tonight, a win that went to Succession‘s Jesse Armstrong. Succession later beat out Squid Game among others to win its second Outstanding Drama Series Emmy.

In Hwang’s directing category, he was up against Ozark‘s Jason Bateman, Severance‘s Ben Stiller, Succession‘s Mark Mylod, Cathy Yan and Lorene Scafaria, and Yellowjackets‘ Karyn Kusama.