Since its 2021 Netflix debut, the South Korean craze known as Squid Game has swept the globe.
The riveting, realistic, and gory survival thriller has brought in over $900 million for the streaming giant and also been confirmed for a second season. It even sparked a reality TV challenge.
While Squid Game’s popularity benefits Netflix, Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show’s creator, seems to be having financial difficulties.
The LA Times just published an article that throws light on the contractual restrictions that have prevented Dong-hyuk from receiving a portion of the enormous earnings his brainchild has collected.
The selling of his series to Netflix marked the beginning of Hwang Dong-hyuk’s collaboration with the Squid Game streaming programme. Sadly, the agreement was set up as a flat fee payment, thus Dong-hyuk was not entitled to any residuals from the enormous revenues the show generated. His rights to intellectual property pertaining to the killer game concept were likewise surrendered under his contract.
In conversation with The Guardian, the creator disclosed, “I’m not that rich. But I do have enough. I have enough to put food on the table. And it’s not like Netflix paying me a bonus. Netflix paid me according to the original contract.”
The reality show “Squid Game: The Challenge,” which will debut on Netflix, will feature 456 competitors playing challenges akin to those in the original drama. The reality show, nevertheless, has come under fire from contestants who have complained about unfair working conditions and have additionally implied that the game was compromised.
Concerns related to Hwang Dong-hyuk’s pay were addressed by Netflix in a statement that was released in response to the LA Times article. The streaming platform averred, “We pay fair, highly competitive rates with our K-Content creators and set clear standards for our Korean production partners, who produce all our shows and movies. These standards meet or exceed Korean law.”
