# @popbase on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdaC1Mdhjkw
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70638342-popbase-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/48b892748d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-17T23:30:06.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Pop Base (@PopBase) — https://gondola.cc/PopBase

## Caption

'Squid Game' premiered 5 years ago today.

Hwang Dong-hyuk first scripted the idea behind 'Squid Game' back in 2008, drawing directly on his own early struggles with debt and South Korea's wider class disparity, but spent over a decade unable to find a studio willing to back something so unconventional. It wasn't until 2019 that Netflix finally took an interest, part of the streamer's broader push to expand its international programming slate, allowing Hwang to finally bring the long-shelved concept to life as writer, director, and creator of the entire nine-episode first season.

Starring Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, and Jung Ho-yeon, the series follows a group of financially desperate contestants competing in a series of deadly children's games for a massive cash prize, blending childhood nostalgia with high-stakes survival drama. Making the show took a genuine physical toll on Hwang, who has said the stress, poor sleep, and irregular eating during production caused him to lose several teeth, underscoring just how demanding bringing his long-gestating vision to screen actually was.

Released worldwide in one full batch on September 17, 2021, the series exploded almost immediately, becoming the biggest series launch in Netflix's history and reaching number one in 90 countries within weeks, helped along by the platform's investment in subtitling and dubbing into more than 30 languages. Hwang went on to win an Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series the following year, becoming the first South Korean director honored in that category, and the show's massive success eventually led to two further seasons, released in December 2024 and June 2025, cementing 'Squid Game' as one of the most consequential global television phenomena of the decade.

#squidgame #movies #popculture #reels

## Stats

- **Views:** 30,345
- **Likes:** 1,531
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- **Comments:** 22

## Tags

squidgame, movies, reels, popculture

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