Squid Game makes historical and grand sweeps at the Emmys 2022

Survival thriller Squid Game was bestowed with the grandest honors at the 2022 Emmys on Monday, September 12, 2022. It turned out to be a historic night for the South Korean entertainment industry. Lee Jung-jae took home the award for Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while creator Hwang Dong-hyuk bagged Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.

While the series took a decade to turn into reality, the two Emmys awards made the wait worth it.

Lee Jung-jae, 49, became the first-ever Asian to win Best Actor at the Emmys and only the fourth to win an acting Emmys award. He beat Jason Bateman (Ozark), Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong (Succession), and Adam Scott (Severance).

Another South Korean to have gone down in history on the same night is Squid Game's creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. The writer-director won Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. He won against the directors of Ozark, Severance, Succession, and Yellowjackets. It is also the very first non-English show to earn a win in this category.

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Hwang Dong-hyuk makes a moving speech as Squid Game wins big

After Bong Joon-ho's Parasite won an Oscar two years ago, September 12, 2022, marked one of South Korea's biggest nights. Netflix's biggest show, Squid Game, won two major Primetime Emmy Awards, bringing glory to their country.

The Netflix thriller was the first non-English drama to secure an Emmy nomination in the best drama category. The show's lead Lee Jung-jae and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk also bagged the Best Actor and Best Director awards. Subsequently, the Emmys audience gave the winners a standing ovation.

In his acceptance speech, Hwang Dong-hyuk shared the win with the audience and the viewers.

“I don't think I made history by myself because it was you who opened up the doors for Squid Game, inviting us here tonight at the Emmys. So I believe I have to say we all made history together."

Lee Jung-jae, on becoming the first Asian actor to win an Outstanding Actor award in a non-English show, could not stop thanking the academy and the viewers.

With 14 nominations, Hwang Dong-hyuk's thriller won six awards at The Emmys 2022. Two in the main and four in the Creative Arts Emmys.

Lee Yoo-mi bagged the Outstanding Guest Actress in the Creative Arts, becoming the first Korean actress to win the honor. The Netflix thriller also won Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode, Outstanding Stunt Performance, and Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More).

Meanwhile, Squid Game lost out on Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama SeriesSupporting Actress in a Drama Series (Jung Ho-yeon), and Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Park Hae-soo, Oh Young-soo).

Squid Game season 2 is currently in the scripting stage.