Hwang Dong-hyuk is the writer and director of the South Korean survival drama streaming television series Squid Game for Netflix. To win a ₩45.6 billion prize, a group of people, including the show's protagonist Seong Gi-hun, risk their lives in a secret survival game known as the Squid Game.
On September 17, 2021, Squid Game's first season was broadcast globally to great acclaim and interest. A third and final season is planned for 2025, after the second season's production started in July 2023 and is expected to be released on December 26, 2024.
What happens in the Squid Game?
Seong Gi-hun, a compulsive gambler and divorced parent in South Korea who lives with his elderly mother, is invited to play several kid-friendly games with the chance to win an enormous amount of money. He is taken to an unknown location after accepting the offer, where 455 different players who are all having serious financial problems are gathered around him.
Participants must wear green tracksuits, and the Front Man, who is in charge of directing the games, is clad in a black mask and black outfit. They are always under the close surveillance of pink jumpsuit-clad guards wearing masks. Participants quickly find out that losing a game results in their death, and that each death raises the potential ₩45.6 billion grand prize by ₩100 million.
Gi-hun makes alliances with other players, such as his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo and North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok, to survive the psychological and physical twists of the games, while detective Hwang Jun-ho enters the games as one of the guards to find his missing brother.
Who are the main cast and characters in Squid Game?
Here is a list of all the main cast and characters in the South Korean survival thriller horror series Squid Game:
Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
Park Hae-soo as Cho Sang-woo
Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
Jung Ho-yeon as Kang Sae-byeok
O Yeong-su as Oh Il-nam
Heo Sung-tae as Jang Deok-su
Anupam Tripathi as Ali Abdul
Kim Joo-ryoung as Han Mi-nyeo
Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho
Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi
Kang Ha-neul as Dae-ho
Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju
Lee Jin-wook as Gyeong-seok
Yang Dong-geun as Park Yong-sik
Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee
Kang Ae-shim as Jang Geum-ja
Lee Seo-hwan as Jung-bae
Squid Game accolades and nominations
On September 17, 2021, the first season of Squid Game was broadcast globally to widespread praise and interest. The first season was nominated for 14 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, which was the first non-English-language work to receive such a nomination. Lee was the first Asian actor to win the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series award for a non-English role.
FAQs about Squid Game
A. Squid Game is about several players (456 to be exact) who participate to win a ₩45.6 billion prize by risking their lives in secret survival games.
A. Squid Game portrays the cruelty and suffering that modern capitalism inflicts on members of lower social classes and condemns it.
A. Yes, Squid Game is a real game. In South Korea, kids play the game "squid." The game gets its name because the playing field's shape, which is depicted on the ground, resembles a squid. This is also the inspiration for the survival thriller horror series Squid Game on Netflix.
