Squid Game was in development for over a decade, reveals writer-director

Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the series is one of the most successful and watched shows on Netflix.

The Netflix series Squid Game has taken over the screens at home, and has become one of the most popular shows across the globe. The creator and director of Squid Game Hwang Dong-hyuk says that the show was in development for over a decade before its release on Netflix.

“Making the story into the series was still an adventure, just as it was about a decade ago. I knew that it would be all or nothing; either a masterpiece or a quirky flop.” said the director in an interview with The Korean Times.

He said that he knew the idea was experimental and doubted if the audience will be convinced about the show's thread and that after 12 years, he feels that finally audiences are more welcoming of violent survivor stories.

He explains that these days, the story of people risking their lives to hit the jackpot playing children's games is not so peculiar today where individuals are obsessed with hitting the jackpot in some form.

The decision to wait has paid dividends for the director, as people now accept content such as Divergent or The Hunger Games. The fact that Netflix is now a global streaming giant also helps the director in his success.

Squid Game is a show that follows Seong Gi-hun, who enters a game contest where he was promised he could win big money. He realises that the contest is where he has to compete in children’s games, and the consequences of losing is death.

The South Korean survivor drama, which has nine hour long episodes, is available to stream on Netflix.

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