Director Hwang Dong-hyeok of the Netflix series ‘Squid Game’ won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gotham Awards in the United States.At the ‘2025 The TV Awards’ held at Cipriani on Wall Street in New York, USA on the 2nd(Gotham time), Director Hwang won the Lifetime Achievement Award in TV category.This award is given to a creator who has broadened the horizons of TV and had a significant impact on culture.

On this day, director Hwang Dong-hyeok and lead actor Lee Jung-jae of ‘Squid Game’ also attended the awards ceremony.Lee Jung-jae went up on stage as an award presenter and paid tribute to director Hwang, saying, “What director Hwang Dong-hyeok created was not just a drama, but a mirror that clearly and sharply reflected the society we live in.” He continued, “Squid Game, released in 2021, was a phenomenon that captured not only viewership ratings, but also the collective imagination of people around the world.”

For director Hwang Dong-hyuk, this Gotham Awards has a special meaning.He said, “I first won the ‘Breakthrough Series - Feature’ award for Squid Game at the Gotham Awards in 2021,” and “At that time, I said, ‘This is all a miracle,’ and I still believe that miracle continues even after four years.”

In his acceptance speech, he looked back on the process of making Squid Game and said, “When I first proposed this work in 2009, I received many rejections.If even one of them had accepted, Squid Game might not exist today.” He continued, “I would like to thank the cast and crew who worked with me from season 1 to season 3, and everyone who believed in my vision and supported it.”

In particular, he said to Lee Jung-jae, who played the main character Seong Ki-hoon, “Thank you for being Seong Ki-hoon number 456.Although you failed to save the other contestants, you saved this show,” drawing laughter and applause from the audience.

Meanwhile, ‘Squid Game’ is scheduled to conclude its series with the release of Season 3 on June 27th.


Reporter Kim Gyul- winter@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.