Hwang’s latest offering on Netflix is the Korean survival show ‘Squid Game’. It's one of the most popularly watched web series in recent times. The series was produced with an estimated budget of around 21 million dollars and managed to give profit returns of nearly one billion dollars.
The recent Korean series 'squid game' has captured the eyes of the online audience to a great extent globally. The suspense and thriller were depicted literally during the entire playtime and were indeed a treat to watch.
Opening up in a recent interview about the reason behind Korean content getting popular globally, Hwang said: “Korean society, I would say, is a very dynamic one. It is the only single country remaining divided in the world. The people of the same origin are divided because of the military tension, and there are a lot of people staying in a small-sized land.”
He added: “We have a very hyper-connectivity with a high-speed internet, so a lot of influences are being given and received among all the population living in this country.”
He credits the “diverse layers” in Korean society that are making people “receptive to change”.
“We get influenced a lot by the other factors that are surrounding us, that is why probably the Korean content is very much liked.”
“The content is responding to external conditions, and it is also accepting a lot of changes fast, and it is sensitive to the changes that probably Korean content is perceived as entertaining one to the global audience.”
The series ‘Squid Game’ is the latest addition to the Korean content. The show tells the tale of people who risk their lives in a mysterious survival game that has a cash prize of $38.7 million.
When asked, what makes the nine-episode series, that interesting to watch?
The director said: “So, there are many works that depict survival games or death matches but, most of the survival game-themed artworks depict how complex the games are and how dangerous games are. Those are mostly the focus of those works, but then ‘Squid Game’ is different.”
Unlike other survival or death games, this show focuses on childhood games but with a dark spin.
“It features childhood games that are quite childish and simple. The participants are putting their lives at risk to win in the games and the irony that is coming from this is too dark and contrasting characteristics say they have a lot of power and are the refreshing aspects of the series,” he said.
The director says that the games depicted in the series are easy to understand – not just for Koreans but the global audiences.
“(They) can understand the rules instantly and from a certain point afterward they can not only understand the rules of the games but more the people and their emotions. That I would say sets ‘Squid Game’ apart from other survival games.”
There is no wonder if a similar type of series is on the cards in the days to come, as the series has opened up the portal for a different dimension of series making.
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