On Monday, September 12, 2022, the survival thriller Squid Game received the highest accolades at the 2022 Emmys. It was a landmark night for South Korea’s entertainment sector. Lee Jung-Jae was named Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while Hwang Dong-hyuk was named Outstanding Director in a Drama Series. While the series took a decade to become a reality, the two Emmy nominations made the wait worthwhile. Lee Jung-jae, 49, became the first Asian to win Best Actor at the Emmys and just the fourth person to win an Emmy for acting. He defeated Jason Bateman of Ozark, Brian Cox of Succession, and Adam Scott of Succession (Severance).
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the designer of Squid Game, is another South Korean who went down in history on the same night. The writer-director took home the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. He triumphed against Ozark, Severance, Succession, and Yellowjackets directors. It is also the very first non-English program to win this award.
Congrats again to @SquidGame‘s Lee Jung-jae, who just won the #Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series! 😍 🦑 #Emmys #Emmys2022 pic.twitter.com/uTh99opiFb
— Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) September 13, 2022
Hwang Dong-hyuk delivers an emotional statement as Squid Game triumphs.
After Bong Joon-Parasite ho’s won an Oscar two years ago, September 12, 2022, will be remembered as one of South Korea’s most important evenings. Squid Game, Netflix’s most popular program, won two major Primetime Emmy Awards, giving pride to their nation. The Netflix thriller was the first non-English drama to be nominated for an Emmy in the category of best drama. Lee Jung-jae, the show’s star, and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk both won Best Actor and Best Director. Following then, the Emmys crowd applauded the victors with a standing ovation.
Hwang Dong-hyuk shared his victory with the crowd and viewers in his acceptance speech.
“I don’t believe I created history by myself since it was you that invited Squid Game here tonight at the Emmys and opened the doors for us.” As a result, I suppose I must state that we all produced history together.”
Lee Jung-jae couldn’t stop thanking the academy and the public after becoming the first Asian actor to win an Outstanding Actor award in a non-English program. Hwang Dong-thriller hyuk’s received 14 nominations and won six wins at The Emmys 2022, two in the main category and four in the Creative Arts Emmys.
The Netflix thriller also received Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode, Outstanding Stunt Performance, and Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program, making Lee Yoo-mi the first Korean actress to win the award (One Hour or More).
Meanwhile, Squid Game was nominated for three awards: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Jung Ho-yeon), and Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Jung Ho-yeon) (Park Hae-soo, Oh Young-soo). Season 2 of Squid Game is now in the writing stage.
