Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of Squid Game, has discussed why he hasn’t become ‘that rich’ even though the series achieved ‘a huge global success’ on Netflix.
The South Korean show quickly gained worldwide recognition on Netflix, bringing significant profits to the streaming service. However, while Dong-hyuk received widespread acclaim, financially, the situation was different.
Squid Game was viewed by more than 142 million households within four weeks of its debut in September 2021, and it attracted an additional 4.4 million subscribers to Netflix.
In a letter to investors, Netflix stated, as quoted by The Guardian: “The breadth of Squid Game’s popularity is truly amazing.”
Despite this success, Dong-hyuk told the BBC he initially hesitated to produce another season.
The reasons? Aside from losing ‘eight or nine’ teeth during filming, he had other considerations about whether continuing the series was worthwhile.
A significant concern was the financial aspect.
Dong-hyuk reportedly had to take out several loans to support his family during the decade he spent trying to get Squid Game produced.
Fortunately, Netflix eventually came on board. Nevertheless, even though the show became one of the most famous on the platform and generated about $900 million for the streaming service, it didn’t significantly change Dong-hyuk’s financial situation.
He admitted: “Even though the first series was such a huge global success, honestly I didn’t make much.”
Despite the series’ tremendous success, it was reported that Dong-hyuk had given up all intellectual property rights when he initially made the agreement with Netflix. Consequently, he was paid upfront without receiving any residuals or bonuses from the show.
In an interview with The Guardian, Dong-hyuk mentioned: “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.”
Dong-hyuk also took the financial aspect into account when considering whether to create a second season. He decided to proceed with a follow-up because he ‘didn’t fully finish the story’ and also recognized it would ‘help compensate [him] for the success of the first one too’.