Director Hwang Dong Hyuk reveals 'Squid Game' was rejected for 10 years by investors & actors who thought the script was 'weird'

Director Hwang Dong Hyuk shared some behind stories regarding his megahit Netflix series, 'Squid Game'.

In an interview with one exclusive media outlet, director Hwang Dong Hyuk revealed that he had actually completed writing the script for 'Squid Game' back in 2009. However, his script continued to get rejected by investors and actors who thought the script was "weird". This rejection went on for ten years, and studios were not interested in taking up his project. He stated, "There were a lot of people who told me that ['Squid Game'] was a project that was weird and too unrealistic. I continuously got rejected from investors and actors." 

Director Hwang Dong Hyuk continued, "Back in 2009 when I finished writing the script, it had content that was too unfamiliar to the current society and culture at the time. After being rejected by the investors, I felt that it was too premature [to release it to the world]. Ten years later, the OTT platform appeared, the [large] gap between the rich and poor became severe, and the 'get rich quick' schemes became increasingly idealized. Upon meeting [all these conditions], I think that's how this series was able to come out into the world." 

'Squid Game' has now completely taken the world by storm, and was even predicted to become Netflix's most-watched TV show.