‘Squid Game’ Creator Gets No Residuals Despite Series Earning $900 Million for Netflix

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, reportedly forfeited all intellectual property rights and received no residuals, while Netflix earned nearly $1 billion from the groundbreaking series.

An article by the Los Angeles Times, explores the broader exploitation of South Korean creators in the streaming age and questions how Netflix has been able to acquire high-performing content at a relatively low cost.

When asked about his financial status in October 2021, Hwang stated that he was not as rich as the fictional $38 million winner of the show’s brutal competition.

He mentioned that he had enough to sustain himself and his family but clarified that Netflix did not provide any additional bonuses beyond what was specified in the original contract.

Netflix generated significant profits from the first season of Squid Game, which had a production cost of approximately $2.4 million per episode.

The success of the series reportedly increased the streaming platform’s value by an estimated $900 million, as per internal company documents.