Hwang Dong-hyuk, unlike the protagonist of his popular streaming show, isn’t exactly winning the “Squid Game.”
Netflix’s “Squid Game,” although becoming a bona fide cultural hit with record viewership, hasn’t exactly proven to be a cash cow for the Korean show’s creator. Hwang, the creator of the big popular survival drama, has said that the show has essentially supplied him with “enough to put food on the table.”
“It’s not like Netflix is paying me a bonus,” the 50-year-old Seoul native told the Guardian. He also pointed out that despite its astronomical success — “Squid Game” recently eclipsed “Bridgerton,” becoming Netflix’s most-watched show ever — the streaming platform is still paying him the amount stipulated in the original contract.
Hwang joked that he’ll never be as “wealthy” as Seong Gi-Hun (Lee Jung-Jae), the gambling-addicted protagonist of “Squid Game,” who — spoiler warning! — wins the fatal decathlon’s $38,460,271.20 prize. The director, on the other hand, confessed that he “has enough to get by.”
Even still, considering that the dystopian thriller was watched by 142 million households and increased Netflix’s subscription numbers by 4.4 million, this may seem insignificant. The program is currently valued at about $900 million by the streaming provider.