All the Ways ‘Squid Game’ Is Making History This Awards Season - Netflix Tudum

  • News

    ‘Squid Game’ Continues to Make History This Awards Season

    The South Korean series is earning countless nominations — and it’s about time.

    By Phillipe Thao
    Jan. 17, 2022

With no killer doll in sight, Squid Game is on a run toward the jackpot. Since its premiere in September, the South Korean blockbuster has become the most-streamed series on Netflix, pulling in 1.65 billion hours of viewing during its first four weeks. And just last week, HoYeon Jung, who portrays Kang Sae-byeok, became the first South Korean woman to grace a solo cover of American Vogue. Jung is currently the most followed South Korean actor on Instagram, going from 400,000 followers to 23.7 million since the show’s premiere. “My entire life changed in just one month,” Jung told Vogue. Now the dystopian drama is making history during awards season, too.

With four Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, Squid Game is the first non-English-language series and first Korean series to score a nod. In addition, O Yeong-su, who plays fan-favorite Oh Il-nam, became the first South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe. “Now it’s no longer ‘us within the world,’ but it’s ‘the world within us.’ While embracing the scent of our culture and while embracing the love for my family deep in my heart, I give thanks to everyone in the world,” Yeong-su said in a statement. He follows in the footsteps of Youn Yuh-jung, who became the first South Korean actor to win an Academy Award in 2021, for her best supporting role in Minari

“Since we released the show Squid Game, we have experienced many surprising events. But today’s nomination for four categories with the SAG has to be one of the most surprising, and one of the happiest moments we’ve experienced,” director Hwang Dong-hyuk told Variety. Regarding a second season, the director adds, “What I will say is that I am picturing what it would be like if there was to be one. But all of these nominations and recognitions at the awards, and hopefully what will continue onward, definitely encourage us and motivate me.”

As we await more awards ceremonies, here’s the full list of wins, nods and pending nominations the groundbreaking series has received this year:

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Feb. 27, 2022 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series  Nominations: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, Anupam Tripathi, Heo Sung-tae, O Yeong-su and Kim Joo-ryoung

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Nomination: Lee Jung-jae

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series  Nomination: HoYeon Jung

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series  Nomination

Golden Globe Awards

Jan. 9, 2022 Best Supporting Actor, Television  Winner: O Yeong-su

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama Nomination: Lee Jung-jae

Best Television Series, Drama Nomination

Critics’ Choice Television Awards

March 13, 2022 Best Actor in a Drama Series Nomination: Lee Jung-jae

Best Drama Series Nomination

Best Foreign Language Series Nomination

Peoples’ Choice Awards

Dec. 7, 2021 Bingeworthy Show of the Year  Winner

Gotham Awards

Nov. 29, 2021 Breakthrough Series, Long Form Winner: Kim Ji-yeon and Hwang Dong-hyuk

Outstanding Performance in a New Series Nomination: Lee Jung-jae

Film Independent Spirit Awards

March 6, 2022 Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series Nomination: Lee Jung-jae

Related Tags

All About Squid Game

  • Hwang Dong-hyuk Says Farewell to Squid Game
    The creator weaves a tale of hope with the ending of the drama series.
  • Every game. Every loss. Every betrayal — has led to this.
  • The new season — premiering Dec. 26 — starts with a bang.
  • Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae opens up about his professional journey.
  • Plus: The Old Guard 2 fights to save humanity in an epic battle at No. 1. 

Shop Squid Game

Go to Netflix Shop

Discover More News

  • Joined by a lady of the court, they take on a cursed palace in the Korean show.
  • Pick up the phone — the rom-com is now streaming. 
  • Voicemails for Isabelle dials to the top, and Avatar: The Last Airbender debuts.
  • Dive into exclusive cast and creator interviews, stunning photos, and much more.
  • The Tampa Bay Rays star and 2025 runner-up will return to the Derby on July 13.
  • Zoë Kravitz, Sadie Sink, and Troy Baker star in a new immersive game experience.
  • The cat-and-mouse drama from Courtney A. Kemp and Tani Marole will return.
  • Millie Bobby Brown introduces an exclusive sneak peek of her new film.

Related Videos

  • Unpack the twisted morality and final betrayal in the final game.
  • An exclusive exploration of the craft and storytelling behind the epic finale. 
  • Leap into the heartbreaking end to the Jump Rope game and shocking new player.
  • Squid Game is back—and this time, the knives are out. 
  • Phil Yu and Kiera Please react to one of the season’s most devastating twists.
  • They’re shedding a light on “The Starry Night”
  • Gi-hun is ready to head back into the game — are you? 

Latest News

  • Watch The East Palace Trailer
    Three people in historical Korean clothing, two men and one woman, are indoors with traditional décor in the background, dressed in hanbok and official hats, suggesting a period drama or historical setting.

Popular Now

  • Meet the allies and enemies shaping Aang’s next chapter.
  • That’s how you know they’re great.
  • She would do anything to be believed. See how far she’d go in the new doc.