'Squid Game': Hwang Dong-hyuk opens up about overcoming subtitles' 'one-inch barrier'

The popularity of Netflix's South Korean survival drama Squid Game took the world by storm as it became of the most-watched series in the streamer's history in just 29 days. Apart from helping the streaming giant mint over $891 million in impact value, it also contributed greatly to attracting a major crowd towards Korean dramas overseas. The impact of the show on pop culture was also evident across the world with the cast touring several places overseas to further celebrate the success of the show. 

Taking into account the global success of Squid Game, the creator of the series, Hwang Dong-hyuk, got candid contributing to the campaign of driving more international audience towards non-English content. He also mentioned the celebrated director Bong Joon-ho who directed the Oscar-winning film Parasite in 2019.

Hwang Dong-hyuk on overcoming the 'one-inch barrier'

In an interview with Variety, the creator of the Netflix show Squid Game got candid about the massive success of the show which drew over 111 million viewers and 1.65 billion hours streamed in the first four weeks. The director revealed that he was 'glad' after people told him that they watched the show in its original audio with subtitles and not in the dubbed version.

He further expressed happiness for finally overcoming the 'one-inch barrier' of subtitles with his creation by referring to director Boon Joon Ho's Oscar-winning speech where he had stated, ''Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films" Hwang Dong-hyuk said, ''Maybe the ‘one-inch [subtitles] barrier’ that director Bong talked about has now finally really come down.''

Additionally, he admitted feeling proud of himself for achieving the feat and hoped that this would open many doors for numerous films and series across the world to be enjoyed by people from every walks of life. 

More on Squid Game

The South Korean survival thriller series gave a deadly twist to the childhood playground games traditionally played in the country including Red Light, Green Light and marbles to win 46 billion Won. The series premiered on September 17 featured Park Hae Soo, Wi Ha‑joon, Lee Jung‑jae and more in pivotal roles. Apart from gearing up for the second season, the show recently bagged three nominations in the upcoming Golden Globe awards 2022. It was also recognized by the Gotham Awards 2021 as it won in the category of Breakthrough Series- Long Format. 

Image: Instagram/@squidgameNetflix