The process of bringing Squid Game to the world has cost series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk several of his teeth.
In a recent interview with Jean Mackenzie for BBC, Hwang, who won a Best Directing Emmy back in 2022 for his work on Season 1 of the Netflix blockbuster, made a point to specify that industry chatter of him losing six teeth during the initial production wasn’t accurate. In fact, he lost more than that.
“It was eight or nine,” he told the publication during a conversation conducted on the set of the second season, set for a Dec. 26 launch. Still, Hwang has pushed forward to complete the story, which Netflix previously announced would wrap with a third and final season in 2025. Key to this decision, per Hwang himself, were the baffling financial circumstances surrounding the first season, with more episodes set to “compensate me for the success of the first one too.”
When Squid Game first hit Netflix in September 2021, the world was still dealing with the multi-pronged ramifications of a global pandemic that took millions of lives while underscoring the very stark differences between the haves and the have-nots. One could rather easily argue that the world isn’t much better off now, with that division having only been made even more strikingly clear over the past three years. Thus, it’s no surprise that Hwang says the stress he’s feeling about round two of his massively successful creation “is much greater” than the teeth-evicting situation he found himself in during the Season 1 production.
For anyone reading this who may be doubting that stress can cause such a thing, just know that your doubt is misguided. Stress can indeed do all manner of damage to the human body, not to mention the spirit. The potential negative impact on teeth health, specifically, can manifest in a variety of ways ranging from tooth decay to outright tooth loss.
At any rate, Squid Game continues next month on Netflix with returning star Lee Jung-jae.
